Re: Sportstalk: Celtics going hard for Gasol

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

At 10:17 12/06/01 -0400, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
>Just the fact that they're willing to trade 10&11 for 6 tells you what 
>they think about 10&11. I'm sure they could get a couple of good players, 
>but they obviously believe Gasol can be a great player.

Of course, it would be nicer if Boston could move up to get the Chicago or 
Atlanta pick. 10&11 for 6 sounds slightly unbalanced to me. It seems like 
Chicago and Atlanta want veterans that can help them. Maybe explore a 
three-way deal? Wallace/Papile certainly need to demonstrate the creativity 
it takes to earn their monthly salaries.

With the third or fourth overall pick, Boston would have a real good shot 
at Brown, Curry and Griffin. All three work as a nice consolation prize in 
my view, once the first two guys are off the board. Curry and Griffin could 
probably play 20mpg right away on our roster, and Brown could be one of the 
great Celtics down the road. He seems very bright also.

As for the 10th pick, I wish we knew more about Diop's stress fracture, how 
he got it, how chronic it could be. Zydrunas was a joy to watch, before 
injuries took him down. Bill Walton will always be one of my favorite NBA 
stars in terms of playing style and intensity.

Injuries also cloud the future of Ousmane Cisse, who reportedly had a 
reconstructive surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament, then kept it a 
secret all Spring. I wonder if he'll ever be the same again. It is a real 
pity he has signed with an agent already (his adopted father), since he 
could have spent a year rehabing on a university with top medical 
facilities. If he's capable of playing, maybe he'll play a lighter schedule 
in Europe to make ends meet and be eligible for a future draft.

The biggest name so far in this offseason is Tim "the Muppet" Grover. 
Grover is of course the guy getting Antoine's and MJ's bodies into playing 
shape. But he's also getting credited for the amazing offseason turnarounds 
of Eddy Curry, Steven Hunter, Troy Murphy and hot free agent Nazr Mohammed. 
All these guys have added muscle and gained athleticism in a brief period 
of time.

The latest Katz/ESPN mock draft actually has four top-rated scoring guards 
available with the 21st pick (Joe Forte, Jeff Trepagnier, Gilbert Arenas 
and Trenton Hassell) in addition to Omar Cook, Steven Hunter. One or more 
from that group could conceivably step up as a third wing scorer next year, 
while one or more could be busts. I hope Boston looks carefully at this 
pick, rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Gerald Wallace seems to be fading right along with Cisse out of the first 
round draft picture. With a flawed jumpshot, he could even conceivably be 
cut in training camp as with Kris Clack and JaRon Rush. It is debatable 
what will happen with the new rules, but some think there will be a lot 
fewer transition scoring opportunities (a comparative strength of players 
like Wallace). Personally, I think the team that can run the best fast 
break off of missed baskets will benefit most from the new rules. Boston 
needs a guy who helps make people miss and can sweep the glass clean, but 
the two high school injuries (Diop and Cisse) suggest we might not be able 
to safely address that longterm through the draft. I understand the 
reasoning behind trading up and drafting a potential "franchise player" 
like Gasol, but we are KIDDING ourselves if we think Boston can compete for 
a playoff spot without addressing last year's rebounding deficiencies.

I guess if Antoine can coax Nazr to sign in Boston, we might not need to 
draft a power rebounder. Sign Nazr, sign Gasol and get a good rookie 
shooting guard and maybe we'll be able to compete.

Particularly if Chicago lands Curry (it looks like Krause will luck out 
there), it seems vaguely possible that Nazr can be tempted with a starting 
job offer in Boston, unless some other team bids the roof off to sign him. 
He knows Obie, he's best friends with Antoine, what more does he need? Just 
don't ride shotgun next time Antoine wants to hit the IHOP at 4 in the 
morning. ;-)

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