Re: Trying to make up my mind...

["Shawn Niles" <shizzjr@hotmail.com>]

I do not believe that I have ever heard anyone with a more negative view 
than you, Mark. It is clear to me that the team has made significant moves 
to improve the team. They are clearly looking 2 years down the road to be 
among the top teams. I would rather wait the 2 years and see them on top 
than see them make moves now to be a 5 or 6 seed for the next 5 years.

The team only quit on Pitino because they saw what everyone else saw: they 
were never going to win with him as the coach. That was made clear by the 
way they played after he was gone. They went .500 against the toughest part 
of their schedule. It has been stated here before that if they played under 
Pitino the way they played under O'Brien, they would have made the playoffs.

The Moiso trade was much more than a deal to get some cash. The ygot rid of 
a guy that scored around 35 points all of last year. An entire year with 
only 35 points!! That is pitiful. Maybe the worst part was that he looked 
worse in this years summer league than last years. I don't think he would 
have scored 20 points this year if they had kept him. Instead, they got a 
player that if healthy, could be a 8th or 9th man off the bench and give you 
5-7 points a game. Still not that good, but much more than Moiso would hae 
given you. Then they also got a 1st rounder. This will probably be used as a 
bargaining chip in a future trade. They have until 2007 to use the pick. And 
if they decide to keep the pick, it could turn out to be in the 13-16 range, 
where some good players have been had. You don't think this pick will come 
in handy?

You seem to look at everything and try to figure out how to put a negative 
spin on it. I think we have had enough of that in the Pitino years, and it 
is very sad if you cannot see or refuse to see that this team has 
dramatically improved and has positioned itself to be great in years to 
come.


>From: "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
>To: "'jam@london.com'" <jam@london.com>,   "'celtics@igtc.com'"  
><celtics@igtc.com>
>Subject: Re: Trying to make up my mind...
>Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 13:26:08 -0400
>
>Jim wrote:
>Really?  If that's the case, you might as well unplug the phone, because
>without trading one of these guys nothing significant is going to happen.  
>I
>wouldn't call *anyone* on the team untouchable, although I suspect the
>Celtics would say Pierce is, and considering his extension must make him a
>BYC player, I'll give you that one.  Other than that, what player you 
>listed
>wouldn't you include in a deal to get a quality big man?  If the answer is
>"none", then they're not untouchable.
>----end----
>
>I completely agree, and anyone who has read any of my posts over the years
>knows I don't consider anyone untouchable. My point was that Wallace seems
>to treat them as untouchable. They're not going anywhere this year. It's
>that simple. I mentioned the players on the roster who aren't going to be
>traded and the ones who basically can't be traded (unless at a loss). I
>didn't mention them by name, but, by omission, I was indicating that Vitaly
>and Battie have some trade value.
>
>Jim wrote:
>All in all, the team has a lot of options on the trade market if they 
>decide
>to go that route.  I don't think they intend to, though.  But that's out of
>choice, not because they have no assets.
>----end----
>
>That's been my point all along on the Moiso deal. They've chosen not to 
>make
>any trades, but when they finally deal Moiso it doesn't improve the
>team-only the bottom line. You say financially driven deals happen all the
>time in sports---and that makes it OK? It's one thing when a deal is to get
>under a salary cap, under the luxury tax threshold or clear room for 
>another
>acquisition, but when the move just saves money, I have a real problem with
>it.
>
>Finally, let me say this about the Celtics... I'm hard on them. I haven't
>always been. I used to be a hopeless optimist. I spun the Kenny Anderson
>trade so I liked it. I spun the Vitaly trade so I liked it. Same with the
>Mercer and Fortson trades and the Moiso pick. Going into last season, I was
>convinced things were going to turn around. Then the players 
>quit-absolutely
>quit-on Pitino, and my view of the team changed completely.
>
>I hold Pitino completely accountable for the personnel moves he made and
>some coaching problems, but the guy had a proven track record both in
>college and, although some people love to forget it, with the Knicks in the
>NBA. There's no excusing the personnel mistakes, but there's also no 
>denying
>he faced some challenges in coaching this team that go beyond the bad
>trades. He wanted his best player to bulk up to play power forward, and the
>player resisted. Pitino adjusted and asked him to get in shape to play 
>small
>forward, and the player ignored the request. And when things got tough, his
>best players-who never have won as many games as they've lost and never
>sniffed the playoffs-tuned out and quit on the coach. Do I blame Pitino for
>a lot of the team's problems? Yes. Do I blame him for all of the problems?
>No way. And I'm not willing to say "Pitino's gone, so everything will be
>fine."
>
>So I'm tough on them. They have a general manager who certainly seems to
>know how to identify talent, but never has been asked to build a
>team-there's a difference. They have a coach who completely destroyed a
>Division I college program and has never had any sustained success when not
>under Pitino's wing. They have a power forward who after five years in the
>league shoots 41 percent, leads the league in 3-point attempts despite 
>being
>nowhere in the top 50 in percentage, never gets to the free throw line and
>is a terrible defender. They have a starting point guard who averaged 6
>points and 2.6 assists last year. They have a starting center who averaged
>3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds last year, another center who averaged 7 points
>and 6 rebounds but can't defend and fouls too much, and a third center who
>missed half a season with an ankle sprain. They have three rookies who play
>the same position as their best player. They have two veteran point guards
>who can't stay healthy and aren't very good when they do. And several teams
>in the conference have gotten better.
>
>Now, they also have a coach who finished at .500 in his tenure last year,
>one of the league's most efficient and prolific scorers, a power forward 
>who
>is versatile enough to actually play some point guard, three talented
>rookies and the potential for a bright future.
>
>I can see both sides of it, but I refuse to be blind to the negative about
>this team anymore. I used to be, but reality hit hard in a tank job at home
>against the Sixers last year. If I seem them making moves to save money,
>I'll complain. If I see them standing pat when others are making moves to
>try to ensure a playoff spot, I'll complain. If I see them ignoring
>weaknesses in these players and this team, I'll complain. I know a lot of
>you probably get tired of hearing it, but I've taken my green-tinted 
>glasses
>off. I root for them as hard as anyone, but I'll be as critical as anyone
>when I believe it's warranted.
>
>Mark


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