RE: KA & KA Jr.

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

I firmly believe that the bench is the only thing that can bring Kenny
around.  We all know he has the ability to run a team if he wants
to; but neither soft soap nor tough talk mean anything to him, and
there's no sense in trying either anymore.  The one thing we can do
is to sit him on the bench when he doesn't do what we want him to;
he can't really squawk, if it's been made clear to him what he needs
to do to earn his minutes/starting spot.  He's guaranteed money, but
not minutes.  Whatever else you fear in terms of discontent, chemistry,
etc. is secondary.  Once a guy can do what he likes and not get benched,
then the situation becomes irreversable, as in Philly with Iverson.  The one
thing that I think might work it all out is that basketball players are
very susceptable to peer pressure, and I don't think Kenny has the stomach
to be the one bad apple when everyone else is getting with the
program.

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Alexander Wang [SMTP:awang@MIT.EDU]
> Sent:	Wednesday, October 18, 2000 5:15 PM
> To:	celtics@igloo.igtc.com
> Subject:	Re: KA & KA Jr.
> 
> At 12:48 PM 10/18/00 -0400, Dan Forant wrote:
> >The whole point is KA didn't and doesn't do what the Coach wants him to
> do
> >offensively or defensively. Now what would your boss do??????????????
> 
> There isn't a simple solution. Kenny Anderson doesn't perform as well as
> the coach wants him to, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't perform at
> all. In particular, he's still much better than the typical replacements
> we've had, that are barely qualified to get the ball down the floor
> against
> a tough defender. It's further complicated by the fact that he has a
> guaranteed contract. Unlike most workers, if a guy in the NBA is really
> overpaid, it makes no sense to fire him. You're going to have to pay him
> regardless, unless you can trade him, and it's very difficult to trade
> overpaid players. It's similar when you're deciding who to play. If you
> have a $7M player who plays like a $3M player and a $1M player who plays
> like a $2M player, the second player is a better deal but that doesn't
> mean
> that it's smart to bench the $7M player. People make that mistake
> frequently when they judge guys like Antoine or Kenny. You don't play guys
> based on whether they're overpaid or underpaid; you play them based on how
> good they are on the court. 
> 
> So what would you do with Kenny, Dan? He may be close to untradable. Do
> you
> bench him? Cut him?
> 
> Alex