Trade em!

[Jim Metz <JBMetzEA@AOL.com>]

Title: Trade em!

What do we have on our roster?
Antoine. Power forward? Point guard? Wing player!
Pierce. Scorer at the wing.
Vitaly. Adequate rebounder, jump shooter. 
Battie. Shot blocker, some offense around the basket.
Palacio. Drives to the hoop. 
McCarty. Defensive dervish.
Williams. Able defender off the bench. Has lost inside game
Moiso. Potential. 
Randy Brown. Injury prone defensive specialist.
Kenny Anderson. Injury prone, ball handler.
Blount. Shot blocker.
  *****************
    I put up the above list, just to keep in my mind, what we might expect from the draft in terms of filling needs, even though most pundits advocate taking the best player available, regardless of position.
    What I see is, other than Pierce and Walker, a bunch of players who have one or two NBA skills, but no complete package. 
    If Palacio had Anderson's ball handling ability or Anderson could defend like Randy Brown or Brown could hit the open jumper like Anderson, we'd have a great point guard. The same at center. If Battie was strong as Vitaly or Vitaly could jump like Battie or Blount, we would have a great center.
    It seems obvious that there are no great point guards in this draft. There may be a great center, but he is not among  the college players. If there is one, it is one of the high school kids, who are all about risk.
    It seems to me that with Antoine and Pierce to play the wings, our needs will not be met by this draft, unless we take a chance on a high school center(if one is still available). 
    I'm going back to my origional premise on this draft. Trade the picks. All of them, if necessay, to get the best point guard and best rebounder/shot blocker(a scoring big man might be too much to hope for here).
    I know this will be met with scorn from all of you gamblers out there, but I don't like to sit with long odds.
    Bring me a Ratliff/Dale Davis type and a Bibby quality point guard to combine with Walker, Pierce, Potapenko, Battie, Palacio and perhaps a resigned Carr or a signed Sesar and I'd feel a lot better about next season.
    Everyone is still a bit euphoric over O'Briens .500 record. Remember that the team finished very poorly and that any coaching change usualy leads to this type of spike and then, back to earth performances. 
    I'm scared to death that we draft three rookies and then wind up as a 15 win team with Antoine and Pierce fighting over shots.
    Just as the team was publicly overjoyed to get the control freak Pitino off of their backs, they could be just as happy to get in another coach, who will bring some discipline, after O'Brien  loses what little control he has.
    "Oh no! Must be the season of the Witch."



-JB-

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                Unchain My Heart!