Re: Magic Want To Package Their 3 Firsts For A Top Five Pick

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

This is the dumbest piece of "news" I've seen in a long time. Of course the
Magic want a top-five pick. So do we all. The Celts would gladly trade 10,
11 and 21 for a top five pick. It ain't happenin'. Teams rarely trade down
in the NBA, and certainly not without a legit player to make it attractive.
As I recall, the Magic and Bulls were offering multiple lottery picks to
move up just a couple of spots last year, and couldn't find a taker. Now,
I'm with Joe H. in his thinking that the Celts would be wise to discuss a
Walker-for-top-three pick. You just don't get many chances at franchise-type
big men, and if Walker (or even Pierce for that matter) can land you a Ming,
Curry or Kwame Brown (maybe Eddie Griffin), you do that deal.

As for the draft in general, like it or not, we'd better start thinking of
it as a "delayed reaction" kind of thing. If the Celts draft a high-schooler
like Dasagna Diop, for example, just think of his first year (maybe two) as
his college seasons. He's not here, he's off at Duke polishing his game.
Year 3 is his "rookie" year when he breaks into the rotation. It's the only
way to think of the draft these days. If teams go into it looking for the
quick fix, they're following the road to ruin.

Also, forget Gary Payton. His best years are behind him and he would cost
you Walker or Pierce. I'm not opposed to making a big trade, but it needs to
be for a guy who will be contributing to this team when it's ready to
contend-and that's four or five years away.

Finally, I find it amusing that in all of the Boston media coverage of
O'Brien's hiring, they never mention what happened at the University of
Dayton. They mentioned his first season there, when they won 20 games, but
they completely ignore the devastation of the rest of his tenure there. He
left that program a wasteland. Now, maybe he's a great pro coach, but don't
you think any responsible journalist would at least point out that this guy
has a coaching track record beyond 24-24 over the past three months?

Mark