Callahan: The Celtics Mess

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

http://www.onhoops.com/content/articles/Sep2000/rick.html

September 26, 2000, Ryan Calnan.

Chuck's Note: All of us here at OnHoops are hoping and praying for a
quick recovery and speedy return of Paul Pierce. Get well soon #34...


There are times you are just forced to shake your head. As if life
wasn't bad enough being a Boston Celtic with its terrible court play,
dreadful trades and player attitudes that would be more appropriate to
the Clippers than a once proud club, I am now faced with one terrible
fact: Rick Pitino has no class. He seems to believe that Celtic fans
will continue to believe in spite of is disastrous coaching decisions,
ridiculous speeches and nonsensical trades. In essence he believes his
supporters are dumb.

My disenchantment began last season. Up until then I had forgiven the
terrible Travis Knight contract, his unwillingness to play Walker in the
3 position and give the rebounding duties to someone else (Danny Fortson
anyone?). I even tried to have patience when he gave Ron Mercer away for
nothing but a player he didn't even consider important to the team. No,
the moment my patience broke was when he blamed the Celtic faithful for
losing faith, for booing his players, and for believing when he said
three years to the Playoffs he meant it.

With my anger still simmering with his tirade and his team's poor
performace last year, Pitino continues to drop stupid quotes wherever he
goes. Last week he told the Boston press he could not quite understand
why Robert Pack was so upset being traded to the Celtics. Moments later
he responded to questions from the press saying he guessed Pack did not
want to be the "third option" at point guard in the last yeard of his
contract. BINGO RICK. Maybe he should have added maybe no matter how
injury prone Pack has been he realises playing third string on a losing
team is not the way to get noticed.

This is Pack's last year on contract. He sees CBA ahead of him or
retirement. Pack still has not contacted the Celtics, two weeks prior to
camp. This is the player we traded Fortson away for Rick. Do you
remember that? Did you even talk to Pack before the trade to find out
whether he would become a cancer? Do you think when you trade something
for nothing you should make sure nothing is really zero and not a cancer
ready to eat an already malcontent team? Do you not think this player
may yell loud enough so you have to trade or waive him? And do you
really think Paul "short pockets" Gaston will pay out his contract?

Oh then there is the pearl of he press conference. Quoting Rick: "We are
seeing that top level free agents do not want to play in the North."
Pitino uses Chicago as an example as a club who had plenty of money but
gained few free agents. He continues: "We had a verbal agreement with
Ron Mercer to come here for 2.2 million but we lost him to Chicago...if
a great player has choice he will go somewhere warm...except in New York
because New York is New York" So apparently we cannot get free agents
because of the weather?

I do not believe this for a second. Rick, you have a losing team with a
star player who has no work ethic. You have nothing to trade and your
position as coach/GM is at best tenuous. You have an aging, lazy point
guard, no center of note and even with a top level free agent may make
the playoffs. Chicago is a team with no chance of a championship and
rightly or wrongly has a GM who has been accused of running the best
player of all time out of the game. That reputation was going to stick.
And Ron Mercer? The same player who left because he wanted more money?
He would play on the Clippers if they paid his ego enough. Chicago got
desperate and threw money to him. He took it. And correct me if I am
wrong but wasn't the loss of Mercer supposed to be addition by
subtraction? So now we would pay for the privilege of a subtraction to
the team?

So Pack is unhappy being a Celtic? I am unhappy being a Celtic fan. I am
unhappy that our coach is making ridiculous excuses for his inability to
meaningfully recruit. I am unhappy he is patronising us by thinking we
will believe his tripe. And I am unhappy that a coach with so much
promise as a professional has turned into this:

Rick Pitino May 1997 upon accepting the head coaching position at
Boston: "The Greatest Opportunity Ever Afforded a Coach".


- Ryan Calnan