Re: Virtue Rewarded; or, Ozersky Inside!

["John Lyell" <johnlyell@hotmail.com>]

He still needs to answer how we are going to shore up the interior and quit
giving up 20 board games to rails like Camby & Rahim?

I still like Battie in a package for Marc Jackson. I would even consider
Foyle. He plays tough every night and is a better shot blocker than anyone
we have.


 Maybe we can do a 3 way and land Jackson or Foyle & Shammond Williams or
Vonteego Cummings.


John










----- Original Message -----
From: "Josh Ozersky" <igtcjosh@yahoo.com>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 6:37 AM
Subject: Virtue Rewarded; or, Ozersky Inside!


> You guys aren't going to believe this, and in fact I
> had a hard time believing it myself, but it's true:
>
> Chris Wallace called me on the phone yesterday.
>
> Apparently, he reads my bskball.com column, or at
> least his assistant does (Chris doesn't get on the
> internet much, I gather; he thought that I worked for
> ESPN.)  Anyway, they read all my predraft stuff, and
> looked for my comments after the draft.  Can you
> imagine the rush hearing that gave me?  I guess all
> those columns written for free paid off at
> last!Anyway, he gave me his phone numbers and invited
> me to call him whenever I had a question.  Talking to
> Wallace was an amazing experience; after five or ten
> minutes, you forgot that you were conversing with the
> main decision-maker in the Celtics organization, and
> felt that you were talking with another fan.  Of
> course, he's more coolly analytical than most fans --
> more Alex Wang than Way of the Ray, but of course you
> knew that.
>
> Anyway, I got to talk to him for a good half hour, and
> among the points that came out were:
>
> 1)  He knows that none of our point guards get anybody
> easy shots, and is concerned about it.  But he
> considers that our point guard of the future is still
> in high school or college, and is definitely thinking
> of next year's draft class as one that is deep in
> gifted playmakers.  Not that he will draft on
> position, but it's something to bear in mind.
>
> 2)  I asked him if there was anything to kenny's
> claims that his role requires him to give up the ball
> at the top of the key and then stand around waiting
> for a spot up jumper, or otherwise gumming up the
> works.  Wallace differed on that assesment.
>
> 3)  Re Antoine and his role as power forward, Wallace
> said that Antoine was always going to be an unorthodox
> power forward, whose greatest strength offensively was
> his ability to face the basket and take other fours
> off the dribble.  He would mix it up, but he said that
> even if Twon's physical conditioning was superb, he's
> not the kind of athlete who could catch turn and dunk
> a la Antonio McDyess.  He wants to get a big man down
> the road to complement him that way.  He said also
> that you can get by with what he called "4 1/2s" like
> Battie in the pivot, as long as you don't have to play
> a dominating center like Mutumbo -- and Mutumbo is the
> only such center in the conference right now.  He
> knows about all the shortcomings of our guys, but sees
> them as complementing each other like a pitching
> staff.  Chris uses a lot of baseball and football
> metaphors -- he's obviously a lifelong sports fan.
>
> 4) As far as the Moiso trade goes, he said that the
> team was looking at the luxury tax situation, and that
> the main appeal of the trade was having McLeod signed
> for a one year deal.  He's not concerned with having a
> million small forwards on the team; he thinks McLeod
> might contribte, seems to be a good guy, and if he
> doesn't work out they're OK too.  The pick gives them
> value and flexibility down the road.  He didn't say
> anything bad about Jerome; it was more like, something
> had to go, given that Blount and Palacio will both be
> up for contracts next year.
>
> 5) He says the Celts were a .500 team last year,
> without Battie, Anderson (who he thinks can still give
> you, minimally, 15-18 productive minutes a game),
> Johnson, Brown, and Forte.  I said that Paul and
> Antoine had to both play out of their minds to get us
> those wins, and he said that with the five additions,
> they wouldn't have to do that every night.  He also
> said that he really would like to see us put together
> some wins out of the gate, particularly at home.
> (This is what I mean about talking to a fan; a lot of
> what Wallace said is stuff we have already talked
> about here.)
>
> 6) I asked him if Joe Johnson could be the point guard
> of the future.  He said that Johnson would definitely
> get some minutes there in training camp to show what
> he could do.  I don't think they are thinking of JJ
> that way yet, but I'm hoping they come around.  He
> also said that Johnson was at a disadvantage at
> Arkansas, where he wasn't featured, but rather part of
> a ten man "democracy" under Nolan Richardson.  He said
> that in college, it's all about the system and the
> coach, as opposed to just letting the players play.  I
> said "we learned that the hard way," and he let out a
> big laugh.  He didn't say or suggest anything remotely
> negative about Pitino at any time, though.
>
> 7) I think I'm going to get to go to training camp, so
> I'll definitely report there.
>
> Anyway, you all now have a pipeline to the top,
> through me.  If there's a major pressing question, I
> can call Wallace and ask him about it.  We no longer
> have to depend what the Peter May and Shira Springer
> feel like asking him about.
>
> How's that for good news?
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