RE: More on the draft and Kenny for Coleman from Sam Smith

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

I'd rather come out of the draft with "only" Gasol, if he's as good as
Wallace seems to think, than to come out of it with Tinsley and Loren Woods,
for example. I'd much rather get the great player than the two good players.
And if we can hold onto 21, I think that might actually produce a player
because this draft seems very deep. I don't want to give Toine away, but if
you get Brand or Bibby in return, along with Gasol, then I can live with it.
I've read the Jamal Crawford speculation also, and although he's no Bibby,
I'd love to have him. The tough thing for the Celtics is in trading up they
really only have Toine or Pierce to package with those picks. No one else on
the roster has much value. Maybe Vitaly or Battie, but that's debatable.
That's why Toine's name comes up... if they want to move up and the picks
won't get it done, then you start talking about evening it out with Toine
and Player X. Anyway, I'll be surprised if they move Toine, but not shocked.


If the Celts don't pull off a trade-up, then the news that Diop is slipping
certainly seems like a gift. I still can't imagine him getting past both New
Jersey and Detroit, but stranger things have happened. If you're picking at
10 and 11, you could do a lot worse than a 7-foot, 300-pound athletic
teen-age center. The potential would be too much to pass up.

Mark

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	OzerskyJA [mailto:OzerskyJA@cmog.org] 
Sent:	Monday, June 04, 2001 10:32 AM
To:	'Berry, Mark  S'; 'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject:	RE: More on the draft and Kenny for Coleman from Sam Smith

as arte johnson used to say, verrrrry interesting.
I heard that we might go after Jamal Crawford in
the Bulls deal, though of course I would rather have
Bibby.  But I guess we can't afford him (sigh....)

Trading Toine doesn't make a lot of sense at this point;
it amounts to blowing the team up, and that's not something
I see happening at this juncture.  If we could somehow
wheedle a mid range pick out of, say, Charlotte for taking
"Cancer Man" Coleman off their hands, I would love to get my
hands on one of the guys sure to be available there -- maybe
even Diop!  (Boy it's hard for me to resist Diop's charms.)
I would hate to come out of this draft, after all this antic-
ipation, with only Gasol to think about...of course, if he's
all that, it would be more than made up for by adding 5-10
wins, particularly with some he-man (Zach Randolph?  Derrick
Coleman) manning the paint.

-----Original Message-----
From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 10:18 AM
To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject: More on the draft and Kenny for Coleman from Sam Smith


A couple of new items here, most notable the possibility that Diop is
dropping to the end of the lottery. White, Richardson and Gasol are moving
up. I've been mulling over the Peter May story from yesterday and my
approval depends on my faith in Chris Wallace. If Gasol is the real
deal-because let's face it; none of us have any idea-then you make that
trade. If he's that good, and Wallace is convinced of it, then you trade
those picks to move up and get him. If he's that good, then he's better than
any two players you get at 10 and 11. But it all comes down to trusting
Chris Wallace. What's going to be interesting is what else is involved in
any deal. It's sounding more and more like the Celts will need to get to 4
to land Gasol, and if that's the case, do you do the Walker-picks for
Brand-picks deal? If Gasol is there at 6, do you do Walker-picks for
Bibby-picks? I don't know, but if Gasol is as good as Wallace seems to think
he is, then I applaud him for being aggressive in going after him. I've said
all along I'd trade up for Kwame Brown or Eddy Curry (maybe even Eddie
Griffin), but maybe Gasol is in that class.

On the Kenny-Coleman trade. I think I'd do this just on the principle that a
bad big man is a lot easier to trade than a bad little man. Plus, if you get
anything out of either guy, then the stuff you get from Coleman is more
needed on this team. I say that because my memory hasn't faded so much that
I don't remember the negative impact Kenny had on the Celts when he was on
the court last year. Anyone who believes next year he'd suddenly become
"Kenny Anderson!" is kidding themselves. But forget about any sweetener from
Charlotte. I'm guessing it's Coleman-for-Kenny, take it or leave it. It
wasn't long ago, remember, that Larry Brown was trying to get his hands on
Coleman. Coaches see that size and skill and they all think "I can change
him." I don't think anyone will say that about Kenny.



Here's the word from Smith:

The latest draft grapevine says there is increased interest in two athletic
collegians, forward Rodney White of Charlotte and guard Jason Richardson of
Michigan State. High school center DeSagana Diop, who hasn't worked out
because of injury, is said to be falling, perhaps to the end of the lottery.

But watch out, Bulls fans. Moving up in scouts' minds is 7-foot-1-inch
Spaniard Pao Gasol, described as a cross between Toni Kukoc and Dirk
Nowitzki, and the Bulls are in the market for an offensive small forward.

Also among trade talk, the Hornets and Celtics might swap former Nets
Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson. Heat coach and President Pat Riley has
been sending signals to Tim Hardaway to look for another team. Are the Bulls
listening?