RE: Did we miss a golden opportunity?

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

You're right. Why bother? Let fate run its course.

Should the Celtics be excused for their mistakes because Portland drafted
Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan? I'm not giving up on anyone the Celtics
drafted, but I don't think it's out of line to point out the fact that the
two glaring areas of weakness-the two most important, most difficult
positions to fill-could have been upgraded in the draft.

The "braintrust" is going to be judged on these kinds of decisions. Two
years from now, if we're still running Battie and Potapenko out there and
finally admitting that Joe Forte isn't a point guard, how would you judge
them?

I'm just pointing out that Tinsley and Parker aren't the only mistakes the
Celts made in the draft. Haywood would have solved a lot of problems right
away, and probably turned into a legitimate, upper-echelon starting center
in a year or two. How many of those guys are there?

Look, there are a lot of ways the Celtics could have gone in the draft...
trade up, fill needs, best player... but there isn't a lot of evidence (yet)
that they did any of those things. It's way too early to pass final judgment
on Brown or Forte, but is there any evidence that they were the best players
available at those spots? No. Did they fill needs? No. Kedrick Brown could
turn into Tracy McGrady, and if that happens, great. But based on what we
know now, I think it's worth mentioning.

Mark

P.S. Someone tell Obie that it takes six fouls to foul out in the NBA.
Sitting Pierce for basically the whole second half with four fouls was nuts.



 -----Original Message-----
From: 	jason david jones [mailto:jdjones1@midway.uchicago.edu] 
Sent:	Monday, December 10, 2001 1:50 PM
To:	Berry, Mark  S
Cc:	'celtics@igtc.com'; 'celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com'
Subject:	Re: Did we miss a golden opportunity?

Was Jordan the number one draft pick when he came into the
league? Drafting is an inexact science that can be very difficult to
predict.  It is almost impossible to always make the right choice.  Look
at how many teams passed on Paul.  YOu think that they are asking for a
"do-over"?  

Jason David Jones


On Mon, 10 Dec 2001, Berry, Mark  S wrote:

> This team's two glaring personnel needs are center and point guard. Did
the
> Celtics blow it in the draft with three picks, when starters at both need
> positions were very much available?
> 
> We've talked about Tinsley and Parker at point guard, and it's really hard
> to justify the Forte selection ahead of either of those guys. But what
about
> Brendan Haywood? This 7-footer has made Jahidi White very expendable in
> Washington and has the look of a legitimate center. He certainly seems to
> have made a difference with the Wizards.
> 
> The Wiz are 4-3 in the seven games since Haywood returned from the injured
> list. He's played fewer than 22 minutes just once and is averaging about 9
> points and 6 rebounds a game. He's picking up the pace recently, going for
> 18 points and 9 rebounds against Orlando and 19 and 7 against Dallas (a
game
> Washington won on the road). He's also averaging 1.5 blocks per game and
> shooting 60 percent from the field. And he's 7-feet, 265 pounds. Doug
> Collins can't stop raving about him.
> 
> The fact of the matter is he'd be starting ahead of any of our three
> centers, just as Tinsley or Parker would be starting at point guard.
Instead
> we have Brown and Forte buried on the bench and Joe Johnson seeing his
> minutes stolen by Eric Williams. But this isn't a criticism of Johnson or
> Brown. I love the intelligence of Johnson and the potential of Brown. But
> how good could the Celts be with Joe Johnson, Brendan Haywood and Jamaal
> Tinsley?
> 
> Johnson, Brown and Forte may well turn out to be great players, but
Haywood,
> Tinsley and Parker are going to improve as well. It's tough to find
centers
> and point guards, but they were there for the taking in the draft and the
> Celtics passed. But Duncan is a free agent in two years...
> 
> Mark