RE: Knicks

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

I think the Knicks are incredible winners in this trade.  Patrick
has one of the league's biggest forks sticking out of his back, with
a contract that makes Antoine's seem like a bargain, on top of which
he is a true head case, a hateful, surly ball hog who is completely
uncoachable
and not much better, in my opinion, than Ike Austin at this point.  To trade
a player like that, with his giant salary, for anybody good is a monumental 
victory.  Of course I may be underestimating Patrick.  Maybe he has one
decent year left in him at limited minutes, a la Walton in 86.  But I really
doubt it.

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Berry, Mark  S [SMTP:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
> Sent:	Thursday, September 21, 2000 10:29 AM
> To:	'Jim_Meninno@hotmail.com'; 'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject:	Re: Knicks
> 
> Jim wrote:
> Of all the things that have happened to the Celtics over the last 15 years
> or so, the one that I truly do not regret is that they held on to their
> aging players "too long". Does anybody really wish they had traded Bird or
> McHale in the late '80s? The Celtics current problems come from a mix of
> poor management and bad luck, not because they kept Larry Bird too long.
> But
> that was a long time ago and things are different now. I don't blame the
> Knicks for trading Ewing. In fact, I think they showed plenty of loyalty
> giving him his last contract which was far more than he was worth at the
> time. I'm also not sure how much the Knicks have helped themselves with
> this
> trade. We'll have to see who goes next, Houston or Sprewell and what they
> get in return, but both of those guys are better than Rice right now,
> aren't
> they? 
> 
> Jim, I agree on all counts. As for the Knicks after this trade, it depends
> on what they do next. If they land Webber (for Houston-Camby-??), it was a
> decent deal. If they land Mutombo (for Houston or Sprewell and Camby) it
> was
> a decent deal. If they settle for Matt Geiger or Vitaly Potapenko (they've
> been discussed) it was a lousy deal. And if they stand pat (won't happen),
> it was awful.
> 
> First of all, yes, Houston and Sprewell are light years ahead of Rice at
> this point, so trading either Houston or Sprewell under the assumption
> that
> Rice is an adequate replacement is simply not accurate. However, if they
> improve their front line with either Mutombo or Webber (by trading Houston
> or Sprewell), they certainly seem to be a better, more balanced team.
> 
> The real winners here were the Lakers. They traded Rice, who they didn't
> want anyway, for a perfect PF complement to Shaq who also happens to have
> experience in the triangle offense. And they get an experienced frontcourt
> reserve in Greg Foster in the bargain. Good deal.
> 
> The Sonics also did well. They sacrifice an aging PF for an aging center,
> but the aging center clearly will have more impact on that team. Of
> course,
> they're still not good enough to beat Portland or LA, and half the team
> will
> be in a retirement home or a loony bin in three years.
> 
> The Suns... got out of Longley's contract. Not bad.
> 
> The Knicks are the only losers here, unless they salvage it with their
> next
> move. We'll see.