Re: The Veteran

[opi@unesco.org]

I find it hard to imagine the Celtics going from Pitino's hope of three
young "potential All Star" caliber scorers (Mercer, Pierce, Walker) all
the way down to just one (trading Pierce or Walker for a veteran
thirty-something, defensive-minded player). Even if we get unbelievably
lucky, it would still put us in roughly the same shoes as Atlanta had been
in (with Dikimbe and dream teamer Steve Smith).

I fully agree that Pitino will try to save face by going the short-term
playoff route of Toronto (experienced veterans well on the downside of
their careers), rather than be patient for one more year with a group of
players that it is hard to stay patient with.

Regarding the Dale Davis scenario, I honestly believe he will look just as
silly and foul prone running Pitino's headless chicken halfcourt traps as
anyone else. Put him on our team and suddenly you will hear him described
on this and other lists as frankly "washed-up", "slow as molasses" (he's
no speedster), "too undersized to play center" (from the dump Potapenko
crowd) and so forth ad nauseum.

So who is Pitino trying to kid here? On what basis should he mortgage our
future (Pierce or Walker) for a thirty-something? Is it really worth a
43-win season next year (Pitino's last for sure) and continued mediocrity
one rung higher on the NBA food chain?

We're talking about two NBA 20 point scorers under 24-years-old who put up
good numbers in many other non-scoring stats. One of them has an
undeniable self-improvement and workout ethic, the other has an undeniable
on-court competitiveness and durability. Unfortunately, neither of them
have the doe-eyed BS ability and unprecedented contract that Pitino has.

So to mollify Pitino's ego, we as fans should let him dump one of his two
stars this summer in order that he can deliver a 43-win season
(questionable) for us on his way out of town. He'll leave town and we'll
be stuck with big contracts on Kenny, Eric Williams and some other
30-something veteran. Out of masochism, we can watch Pierce or Walker (and
no doubt the 24-year-old Potapenko and Fortson) develop elsewhere while we
figure out how we let Pitino con us into this mess.

Joe


p.s. Can someone out there remind us of the Denver draft situation? I
assume Pitino can't cash it in this year, which is good news because there
are supposedly three once-in-a-decade big men projected to come into the
NCAA in the next two years (and I'm not talking about the NC Tarheals 7-6
recruit Neil Fingleton from Massachusetts).

****