RE: Chris Wallace Strikes Again

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

At 03:27 PM 4/25/01 -0400, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
>I know we shouldn't draft for need... I'm just worried that Wallace doesn't
>seem to realize we have a need at center. Blount/VP/Battie are backups.
>Period. They don't have to address it in the draft, but I'd feel better at
>least knowing that they hoped to address it. 

Whenever you read quotes to the media, you have to realize that they're
rarely a reflection of internal thinking. Chris Wallace really doesn't have
any incentive whatsoever to say, "We have a real problem at center," even
if he believed that.

I don't think that Wallace actually believes that our center situation is
as good as it can possibly be. But he realizes the difficulty in upgrading
the position. You are right that Blount/VP/Battie are a bunch of backups.
So, would we be interested in a starting center? You bet. But if you're at
all realistic, you realize that acquiring a starting center is very, very
difficult. Personally, I doubt that a good starting center prospect will be
available at 10. At best, some long-reaching project might be there -- and
I would advocate taking a chance on a project. What we definitely don't
want is for Wallace to waste resources to acquire yet another backup center.

>As for Kenny... we're only
>stuck with his contract. You'd need a forklift to raise his value to the
>point where anyone would want to trade for him. I just don't want him around
>this team anymore, and if that means you cut him and eat the contract, then
>that's just the way it is.

Easy to say -- it's not your money. Kenny makes some selfish comments
sometimes, but as far as I know, there isn't any evidence that it's
actually negatively impacting the play of the team. So the only other
benefit to cutting him is a roster spot, which really doesn't have that
much value unless half your team is injured. If you keep him, you might
still get some play out of him, you might be able to use his salary in a
trade (note: I'm not saying that he actually has positive value, but he
might be tradable for a negative that fits us better). Unless he's truly a
"cancer", there's no way he's getting cut, and I don't see enough evidence
yet.

Alex