Willaims, Bird

[Michael Joseph Byrnes <mbyrnes@Stanford.EDU>]

Josh Ozersky wrote:

> If this is the kind of deal that Wallace has been trying to do,
> I say bring Pitino back.  Are they nuts?  Trading anybody for
> a marginal if sold pro like Williams is barely worthwhile; but to
> trade Adrian Griffin and a future FIRST ROUND PICK?  When,
> Oh when, are teams going to figure out that first round picks are
> the lifeblood of a rebuilding team -- particularly one with no cap
> room like the Celtics?

First round picks usually aren't all that great though, outside of
lottery picks.  I think Williams is a good player who is underutilized in
Seattle.  He's no star, to be sure, but he has skills and coming from UNC
he has solid fundamentals.  He would have been a better guy to bring in
than, say, Chris Herren.  I don't think Williams for a LATE first round
pick (don't we have Utah's pick?) is a bad deal at all, unless the Celtics
could get more for that pick in a different deal.

> 7. Is there a chance that Larry Bird will take over the Celtics in some
> capacity?
>
> I think there's a better-than-good chance. Ironically enough, on the same
> afternoon of Pitino's final game, I exchanged e-mails with a source of mine
> who sent along the following info:
>
> "Gaston has been seriously talking to Steve Belkin (Bird's backer) about
> selling. Bird has talked personally to Gaston in an effort to mend fences.
> Gaston, over the course of the past year, has bought 30,000 shares of
> Celtics stock on the open market at an average price of $10 (This is public
> record in SEC filings.) Either Gaston believes the stock is undervalued
> (which I doubt) or he is preparing to sell the team. (The stock is now at $8
> a share). If Gaston sold the team to Bird's group, the price of the Celtics
> stock, which is 46% of the ownership (although there's no voting rights) the
> price of the stock would triple. A major stumbling block is getting Pitino
> out at a reasonable price.
>
> "Trust me, Bird has done his homework. He has a team of front office people
> (coaches, GM and scouts) ready to roll as soon as something breaks. If and
> when Bird's group buys the team, they will be prepared to immediately make
> the basketball operations far less of a joke. If you have any doubts about
> my info, just check the SEC filings on stock purchases by Celtics insiders."
>
> Five important things to remember here:
>
> - --A. Pitino could have exercised a $22 million buyout if Gaston had sold the
> team during the Pitino Era; that's why getting Pitino out at a "reasonable
> price" was such a stumbling block. As it turned out, Pitino did everyone a
> favor by graciously walking away for a mere $1.8 million.
>
> - --B. The Seattle SuperSonics are probably being sold for something in the
> $200 million range... you would think the Celtics could fetch about $50-100
> million more, given the prestige of owning the Celtics.
>
> - --C. From what I understand, Gaston is waiting to see how the Red Sox sale
> plays out -- media attention, price, bidders, etc. -- just for a reference
> point.

The Red Sox sale is going to be a long, drawn out process.  This is NOT
good news if you want to see a quick sale of the Celtics.

> (One easy way to determine whether Gaston is prepared to sell the team:
> Watch what happens near the NBA trading deadline. If the Celtics make a
> major move involving Walker or Pierce, that means Gaston intends to keep the
> team, have Chris Wallace and Leo Papile run the show and hire a new coach
> after the season. If the Celtics fail to make any moves, you know they're
> playing out the season and biding time until a new management group cleans
> house.)

If Gaston does sell to Belkin and Bird comes in to run the show, that will
be a good thing - as long as Bird is able to exercise the patience that
Rick Pitino never had.

However, I would hate to see the Celtics tied up in the mess that
currently surrounds the Phoenix Coyotes.  The Wayne Gretzky group that is
trying to buy the Coyotes can't come up with enough cash, so the whole
franchise has been in limbo for months.

Michael