RE: After sleeping on it, some draft thoughts...(very long)

["Liles, Donald" <liles@hr.upenn.edu>]

Mark,
Good post, I came away from last night thinking that there has to be some
sort
of deal out there. I like the draftees as well, but the logjam they have
created
(spin it as competition if you would like) on this team will solve little.

I am a firm believer in taking the best player available, it helps in other
maneuvering,
but just it made no sense for the Cavs to draft Diop and Haywood, someone
must be 
going somewhere else. Perhaps I am old or still confused by the draft
dealings from
the lockout year but...do the Celts have to wait until 8/1 to make trades if
they didn't
happen last night? I just remember Doug Collins trying to keep Theo Ratliff
from saying
anything about Otis Thorpe coming to the Pistons, that may have just been
until the new
cba was worked out I don't remember.

Does last night's draft help us push the Kenny for DC deal? He has the size
but is he
only attitude now? How about we call Mo Cheeks to see if he wants to
jettison Rasheed,
you have to think that they will have problems together. I guess since Mark
suggested
the whole Wallace idea it has really grown on me. 

By the way, who was it who didn't think that Bibby would get shipped? 
Will Jason Williams' dad be able to watch over his son more in Memphis? 
Another good move in my opinion, they already have a backup for him if he
goes
goofy again. 

Don


-----Original Message-----
From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2001 10:19 AM
To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject: After sleeping on it, some draft thoughts...(very long)


OK, here goes...

I'm pleased with all three picks because I do believe that each guy was the
best player available at that point. You can't go wrong taking the best
player. Let's look at each one:

Joe Johnson... A no-brainer. I was sitting there hoping to hear Battier and
Diop go before the Celts simply because I'm not sold on Battier being more
than a solid role player and because I don't think the Celts would have
taken Diop. If Diop had slid instead of Johnson, I think we might have seen
a Troy Murphy or VladRad, and I didn't want that. Funny how we kept hearing
about guys who were climbing into the top 10, but the top 10 players were
the same group everyone expected a month ago.

Kedrick Brown... Who knows? The highlights looked good. I like everything
the Celtics are saying about him. He excites me more than anyone in that
next tier-Murphy, VladRad, Richard Jefferson, etc. We'll just have to wait
and see. Some of the things I like about both Johnson and Brown... neither
of them fall into that "need to hit the weight room" category-the have the
bodies for the NBA right now; both seem to be good complementary players who
don't need to be the focal point of the offense; both have the size to
succeed-no 'tweeners here.

Joe Forte... OK, I've made it clear how much I fear undersized shooting
guards. They hardly ever work. Forte is a little short (not quite 6-4) and
not especially strong or athletic to make up for his lack of size. Having
said that, I think he probably was the best player on the board. I was
hoping for one of the big guys, but Woods slid so far, you have to think
there's something going on there. I also was excited about Tony Parker, but
it's hard to argue with Forte. I think Kenny Smith made a great point that
he's going to a team where he can play off of Pierce, Walker and others.
That's a huge advantage, because at his size, he's not going to be a guy to
carry a team. One thing I love about him-he seems oblivious to the 3-point
line when he's on the floor. I love that mid-range game.

Having said all that, as a group, what do we have? Too many 2/3 men. This
has to mean no more Stith, Griffin or Carr, which is fine. But we still have
Eric Williams and Walter McCarty under contract and playing those spots, as
well as Pierce (I'll get to Toine in a minute). Plus, we have Kenny, Randy
Brown and Palacio under contract at the point.

This team is the smallest, weakest in the league. The center-by-committee is
terrible. Let's stop kidding ourselves. It's awful. The only true power
forward on the roster is Moiso, and it doesn't matter because this draft
just locked Antoine Walker into the power forward spot. My dreams of ever
seeing him at small forward are over, because some combination of
Pierce/Johnson/K.Brown are always going to be at small forward. That means
Toine at power forward all the time (except when he's playing point guard).
A PF-C combo of Toine and Battie/Pot/Blount is going to get murdered. The
Celtics like to say they're modeling after Sacramento and Milwaukee, but
Sacramento, despite all the flash, has Divac and Webber up front. Milwaukee
has Ervin Johnson, who, as pedestrian as he is, still is better than anyone
on the Celtics' roster. And they recognized the need to improve there when
they made the move for Przyzbilla last year. For a look at different
philosophies in building a team, look at Philly. Iverson, technically, is a
2-guard, but outside of him, their 2/3 guys are role players-McKie, Lynch,
Jumaine Jones. But they stockpile big people-Mutombo, Geiger, Ty Hill,
McCullough, and before that, Ratliff and Nazr Mohammed. The Celtics probably
think they can run with their new guys, but you have to rebound to run, and
they will be among the 2-3 worst rebounding teams in the league.

My problem isn't with the draft, because the Celtics got three talented
players. My problem is with the way this team is coming together. It's not
sexy, but you need big people to win in the NBA. Papile says the league is
dominated by the Kobes and McGradys and Carters, but look more closely...
Kobe has Shaq, McGrady's Magic were middle of the road because they lacked
size, and Carter's Raptors would be lost without Antonio Davis and Charles
Oakley. 

I think the Celtics will learn this during the upcoming season and sort it
out eventually. Which brings me to my last point: Last night's draft
signaled the eventual end of Antoine Walker's days as a Celtic. It's clear
he's not going to ever be a small forward in Boston, and they're going to
discover they need, as Josh says, "an animal" up front, either at center or
power forward. Might they dangle some of the swingmen like Johnson or
Kedrick Brown? Maybe, but that means Toine stays at PF and they're dangling
those guys for a center. Good luck. Power forwards are easier to come by.
You know who would be perfect? Jermaine O'Neal. I know it won't happen, but
a Toine for O'Neal and (pick one) Harrington/Croshere/Bender/Tinsley/Best
deal would be great for the Celts.

So, I'm happy with the three picks, but I think the Celtics are going to be
disappointed in their improvement in the upcoming season. I think the Hawks
have eclipsed them in the East, and the Wizards could do the same if Jordan
comes back. I think we're in for one more non-playoff season before we fine
tune this improving roster by adding the big men we need. Of course, that
outlook could change dramatically if they make a bold move over the summer.

 Mark