Re: Potential Vitaly trade?

[Dan Forant <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

Pots is a much more natural scorer than Kleine. 
Dan

At 07:41 PM 10/15/00 -1000, you wrote:
>>From: "Troy Hash" <troyhash@kih.net>
>>
>>I'm not talking about Kleine of today, but the Kleine when he was a 
>>Celtic.  And yes, then he was an allstar compared to Potastenko of 
>>today. 
>
>Well, if you're talking about the Kleine of the past, you have a 
>point.  But how was the old Kleine so much better than V?  To me, 
>they seem to have some of the same weaknesses.  Like, hard hands, not 
>really passing all that well, kind of a bull-in-a-china-shop thing 
>going for both of them.  Maybe V even has some better offensive 
>skills than ol' Joe -- at least, in the way Pitino seems to use big 
>men: high-post screens and jumpers.
>
>>As you may gather, I really think VP really stinks!  [...]  He can't 
>>run, can't defend, can't jump or block shocks and has hands of 
>>stone.  He does has beef, but that hardly makes him anything short 
>>of NBA backup.  Get rid of him and Batman at all costs!
>
>Well, he can't really jump or block shots, you're right about that 
>(and about his hands), but I actually do think he can run (he fills 
>the lane just as much as anyone on the team, which is to say not very 
>often).  I see him beating opposing big men down the floor -- when 
>the team is running -- and I'd like to see more of that from him. 
>His defense could sure use improvement, but it's not all that bad. 
>He denies position pretty well.  Defending the low post once his guy 
>gets the ball could be better, though.
>
>As for his good qualities, don't discount the beef.  He's the only 
>guy on the team with any real bulk, and if he can improve his 
>defense, that can become a real benefit to the team.  (A team with 
>3-4 skinny guys with "length" playing the pivot doesn't seem wise to 
>me.)  V's got a nice jumper that he's been working on, and he sets 
>screens very well.  He and Anderson have that little pick-and-roll at 
>the top of the key thing going for them, and V makes a good 
>percentage of those shots (at least, it seems that way to me).  Plus, 
>he works hard, which might increase his chances of improving his 
>overall game.
>
>As for being a backup -- ten years ago I think you're right, but now 
>it just seems as if big men who aren't 7'/215lbs and better suited 
>for sf/pf are at a real premium, and so, if the team could trade V 
>for a guy with size and better skills, I'm all for it, but if we 
>trade him away for another swingman type and yet another tall, 
>skinny, long guy who hasn't really shown anything (other than 
>lighting _us_ up) I think that's not so good.
>
>(Hey, we might even draft or otherwise acquire the kind of center 
>that would be a perfect starting center for us, and then VP might be 
>a very good backup, and the team can quit trying to use guys like 
>Battie at center.)
>
>Regards,
>
>Bill
>
>