Re: Can this trade be far behind?!

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Hi Kevin:

    Even though Pitino said yesterday Moiso won't be ready to contribute this
year (despite that So's actually "old" at 22 for a rookie and has been playing
basketball for 13 years), I think in an ideal situation we have a 7-0 foot,
shot-blocking starting power forward to cover Potapenko's weaknesses, and vice
versa. The key is that Antoine gets down to 8% body fat and can play small
forward. Thus you have a fairly big, slightly more athletic frontline that can
average maybe 21 or 22 boards per game, play decent paint defense, and score a
little. Depending on matchups, Antoine can play four and Moiso three; or even
Potapenko at four (against a Karl Malone/Elton Brand) and Moiso at five.
Meanwhile BatGurl assures that the Celtics will always have at least one
shotblock threat in the game for all 48 minutes, since it seems unlikely he
won't play at the same time with Moiso very often.

    The keys are is Moiso a 225 pound "poor man's Garnett" or a "rich man's
Battie/McCarty"? But ultimately it is Antoine who holds the key. If he comes to
camp built like he was as a college sophomore, he could really abuse some teams
from the three. If not, then the Celtics are one year older but not more
talented than they were during last year's mediocre first half (when Fortson
was on the IR, but Adrian Griffin was playing great ball).


Joe

BTW, here is the CBSportsline Scoop on Shaw League Celtics invitee JaRon Rush

JaRon Rush
Shooting guard UCLA Soph. 6-7 215
55.8 FG%, 73.3 FT% .387 3-pt%
12.1ppg, 1.2 apg, 5.7 rpg in just 9 game appearances

Analysis
By George Rodecker
Special to SportsLine

May 2000: Rush is a highly athletic wing player who'll likely switch to
shooting guard in the pros. His athleticism will serve him well offensively, as
he can roam the perimeter and create his own opportunities. Rush can break down
his man off the dribble and, using his swiftness, bring the ball inside and
finish.

Defensively, he's a liability who cannot or will not defend out on the
perimeter. Occasionally, players appear on the scene who aren't strong
defensively. This is not the case. Rush does not hustle, defend the break or
recover very well. He himself can be taken off the dribble.

Rush's game is screaming for another season of college ball, something many
people figured would not happen. A central part of an AAU pay-for-play
investigation, Rush has sat out games over his involvement. Expect him to trade
college for a seat at the end of an NBA team's bench.

****

Kevin.Lok@outokumpu.com wrote:

> I think the best thing to hope for is for Pitino to stop trading and go
> thru the season with what his got. His successor can probably do a better
> job with the same personnel.
>
> "Michael Griffin" <mgriffin@rillc.com> on 30/06/2000 00:37:23
>
> Please respond to <mgriffin@rillc.com>
>
> To:   <Kevin.Lok@outokumpu.com>, <celtics@igtc.com>
> cc:
> Subject:  Can this trade be far behind?!
>
> I agree.  How in the world can O'Neal be worth 3 #1s?  There is one O'Neal
> worth 3 #1s but he doesn't play for Portland.  Everyone in the league knows
> that Rick must be desperate so he is not working from a position of
> leverage.  Everyone will gladly trade with Rick if they toss Pierce in the
> deal.  Can you see it now......