RE: Garnett?

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Well, just for fun, I played around with this idea on RealGM.com. First, the
thing about including Antoine is it doesn't really help their cap situation.
I'd think any deal they made would be designed to ease the cap problems so
they can add players through free agency.

This worked: Pierce, Vitaly, Moiso, Stith, Minor and McCarty. Stith and
Minor's contracts are up after this season. McCarty either this season or
next. That's $10 million off the books right there. Vitaly certainly could
fetch a draft pick, if they want to clear his number. Throw in draft picks,
and who knows?

I just think Pierce would be the guy they'd want as the centerpiece. Here's
an interesting question: If they asked for Pierce and Toine (with cap filler
to make it work) would anyone do it? The Celts would have a forward tandem
of Garnett and Moiso, a young point guard in Herren, young centers in Pot
and Blount. Something to think about.

Probably a waste of time even discussing it, but I'm sure they're tossing it
around in 27 other NBA cities as we speak.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Hironaka [mailto:j.hironaka@unesco.org]
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 8:55 AM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Re: Garnett?


Yeah worth a try, but how do you match a 20+ million salary cap figure if
what
Minnie wants most is to recoup future draft picks?  That sounds like a tough
one
to do. Forget Paul Pierce in the deal I think. Walker+ Battie/Moiso+
Potapenko+
EricWilliams+ picks  makes more sense.  Also, I think Pierce/Garnett is
probably
more complementary than a Walker/Garnett combo in Boston. But we'd still be
a
piece away in the puzzle, just as the Timberpoodles are, so it might be
worthwhile to retain at least one of our possible lottery picks next year.

BTW, I love Kevin Garnett as a player but his trash talking and poor
performance
in the Olympic championship game couldn't have been more of a
disappointment.
Did you all see that? He came across as such a douchebag.


-------

"Berry, Mark S" wrote:

> First of all, I agree with Alex. I just don't see how trading Garnett
> improves their position. They have to hope that Szczerbiak and William
Avery
> improve and then explore what they might be able to get for Terrell
Brandon.
>
> Now, having said that, everyone will be monitoring this closely. It's
> conceivable that the Wolves, with their owner suspended and McHale
> reportedly stepping down and forfeiting five draft picks (low picks, but
> still...), maybe they decide the way to rebuild from this mess is to trade
> Garnett for another, less expensive star player and a boatload of picks. I
> don't see it, but stranger things have happened.
>
> Now, if that did happen, I'd think some package of Pierce, Moiso and picks
> would be pretty attractive. And the Celts would do it. Garnett is that
good.
> They'd go into next season with Walker and Garnett at the forward spots,
sit
> out the next draft, then try to add to the team the following year.
>
> It's not going to happen, but this is the kind of thing that pops up now
and
> then to make great players available. It's good to have these assets
> available when it happens. I'm guessing this is just the kind of deal Paul
> M. has been dreaming of when tossing out the idea of a Pierce trade. Same
> here, although no one could have imagined a scenario that would make
Garnett
> available. I still can't, but apparently some out there can...
>
> Mark
>
> P.S. Kudos to David Stern for coming down hard. The draft picks hurt, but
> the best part is voiding Joe Smith's Bird rights. That means the Wolves
> can't keep him for anything more than the minimum--and that means they
can't
> keep him. So they lose a starting forward and five draft picks. And it's
all
> deserved for what they did. Too bad Stern can't come down as hard on these
> "wink-wink" deals.