Clueless Celtic Executives Speak

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

C's brass hasn't given up
by Steve Bulpett
Monday, January 8, 2001


The question of where the Celtics go from here has a two-part answer.
The second is centered on a summer of opportunity with three potential
first-round draft picks and many trade possibilities.

But Rich Pond, the club's chief operating officer, didn't want to lose
sight of the primary destination last night in the wake of Rick Pitino's
departure as coach and president.

``This should not send a message that we're giving up on the season,''
Pond said. ``We still hope to make the playoffs. And the reason I can
say that without being too foolish is that even after all the losses
recently, we're hardly out of the playoff picture because of the
conference we're in. This is not a case where we're throwing in the
towel and saying, `Better luck next year.'

``It's a lot of work, and it means there's going to have to be a change
in the mindset of the players to finish games off. But I think with Jim
O'Brien there's still a possibility to get there, and we're certainly
going to work toward that goal.''

As to the Celtics chances for improvement, director of player personnel
Leo Papile said yesterday the cupboard is far from bare.

``It's far from hopeless,'' said Papile, on a scouting trip in Utah. ``I
think that this team, even with all the unfortunate things that have
taken place in the first 34 games, anyone who would say this is hopeless
is not in tune to the current state of NBA affairs.

``The first thing you have to realize is that you've got three guys in
(Paul) Pierce, (Tony) Battie and (Antoine) Walker who are young and who
are tied up for a while. Those are three guys who have the ability to be
quality players in this league for a long period of time.

``Then you have the draft. We won't know until May 15 who's in it, but
we know it's going to be a lot more than American college seniors.
Between underage Euros, underclassmen and whatever else - high school
guys, things like that - you'll have a lot of talent available. There's
an abundance of players out there, and we've got to prepare for any and
all. That being the case, the opportunity of having possibly two lottery
picks this year couldn't have come along at a better time for this
franchise.''

As he beats the scouting trail, Papile has specific needs in mind.

``Where I think we're lacking is in team athleticism and speed,'' he
said. ``If we were to enter into a Superstars competition - like they
used to have on ABC - with other NBA teams doing non-basketball events,
we could be among the bottom few. My point is we need an infusion of
speed and athleticism. Rick talked a lot about defensive woes, and I
think a lot of them can be directly attributed to a lack of athleticism
and speed.''

Papile defended some of the contractual situations others have
criticized, saying the club is not handcuffed at all in the marketplace.

``People question the contracts of Tony and Vitaly (Potapenko), but I
can tell you we've had many inquiries on both of them from a variety of
teams,'' Papile said. ``We have to do our work as a team, but if we do
and things fall right, people will see a difference in this team.''