RE: I've Found A Point Guard For The Celtics

[kai_brunnen_g@ix.netcom.com]

Considering how many bad choices NBA general managers make or how
easily they're swayed by these workout warriors, I'm not sure their appraisal
value of talent is any more accurate than the unwashed basketball
"Smarks" -- Pro Wrestling term for knowledgable fan -- of the Internet.

Plus the draft's a crap shoot as they're fond of saying and some people are just
good at rolling craps and some aren't (Hello Elgin Baylor & Rick Pitino).

By the way is this the same Leo Papile who was on with Ted Sarandis about
three years back and compared Adonal Foyle to Tim Duncan?  Let's hope
he's gained some knowledge in the intervening years. Which to his credit
he apparently has, as he wanted both McGrady and Alexander. 
Ray 


> ** Original Subject: RE: I've Found A Point Guard For The Celtics
> ** Original Sender: Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>
> ** Original Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 11:07:40 -0700

> ** Original Message follows... 

>
> "Berry, Mark S" wrote:
> 
> > I don't know a thing about Tony/Jason Parker other than what I've read
> > (which I'm guessing is the same thing Ray has read), but his point about
> > using a pick on a point guard is well taken.
> 
> I'm still wondering what it is with the Celtics and Frenchies. Are Abdul-Wahad
> and Fred Weis still available? "Au Bon Pain" must be loving it.
> 
> > If the Celts are determined to
> > draft a point guard (I hope they're not, unless the guy is the best player),
> > then I hope guys like Maddox, Cook, Phillips, Jenkins and maybe Parker
> > diving into the draft have shown them that a prospect should be available
> > later. Don't waste 10 or 11 on Tinsley unless he's the best player on the
> > board-and I don't think that's the case that high.
> >
> > By the way, I'm growing more and more worried that the Celts will deal these
> > picks away for immediate help. If that help is Mike Bibby or the like, then
> > fine. But if it's Terrell Brandon or Othella Harrington, then no thanks.
> > Learn from past mistakes. Two or three years isn't too long to wait for a
> > McGrady-like talent.
> 
> Boston should  probably avoid picking for need even with the third pick,
> regardless of whether the best available guy plays exactly the same position as
> Walker or Pierce. I don't know how many top-10 NBA point guards have ever been
> drafted after the 20th pick (Mark Jackson? John Stockton? Joe Dumars?). I'm not
> sure.
> 
> Like Mark I fear that trading picks for a veteran might eventually prove too
> tempting for Obie and Gaston, even for Chris Wallace who probably has the least
> near-term job security of them all.
> 
> I can't blame any NBA coach for wanting a veteran, I just hope it isn't going to
> be the equivalent of an Oakley, Mark Jackson, Kevin Willis type. We don't want a
> franchise built to tread water. But a repeat of the Laettner deal would, of
> course, be by far the worst nightmare scenario.  I'm sure we'll all be hearing
> about plenty of eager offers along those lines, not to mention a lot of
> distracting Internet speculation along that vein.
> 
> I'm braced for it, but I'm not going to worry about it. The fact that Pond
> praised Gaston's draft preparation hints they have a strategy and some specific
> players in mind, at least.
> 
> I'll say again that if Papile and Wallace decide in the end to pass on any top
> prep player that slides to the 10th pick (even if it were Eddy Curry or Kwame
> Brown) then I for one will not rush to condemn them. Historically speaking, a HS
> player of the year guy like Othella Harrington was as much a "can't miss"
> prospect as Jonathan Bender or Stromile Swift or Eddy Curry. Harrington ranked
> ahead of Berkeley-bound Jason Kidd in his class, a natural-born Georgetown big
> man. I wish I could find a list of top-5 High School prospects and post it to
> the list. I think the results would surprise a lot of people.
> 
> And on the flip-side of that, who had ever heard of Charlotte freshman Rodney
> White in high school? Not me, and I'm into reading about HS basketball. Chances
> are fairly good that White has more upside than some of the names littering the
> 2000 McDonald's team like Fingleton, Boddicker, Ridnour, Garner Meads, Travon
> Bryant, Scooter Sherrill and so on. Columnists may complain about AAU ball
> taking away from the HS game, but it is thanks to this that we get to see more
> direct matchups between top prospects. You look at how Tyson Chandler did
> head-to-head against the top centers, and you can't blame him for backing out of
> the McDonald's game. That's not to say Chandler won't be a steal if he slips to
> #10, but Papile/Wallace are likely to know the answer about a million times
> better than Zero-naka/WayWay. We might think we know better, but we have no
> clue. The Boston Celtics are going to work these guys out, watch all the tapes,
> do all the interviews, think hard and compare. They will determine in their own
> minds if Ousmane Cisse has a chance to be the next Mailman or the next Olumide
> Oyedeji. If at that stage they settle on a 22-year-old senior or dump all the
> picks, that's not necessarily because they are playing it safe.
> 
> To my knowledge, no high schooler with the exception of Curry and Kwame Brown
> has ever played on national television (and the McD wasn't even a structured
> ball game) so who are we to judge? All the scouting reports we read on the Net
> are written by people who are only a few degrees higher in the wannabe category
> than your average "pomme de terre du divan" like moi.  If Chris Monter and Mel
> Kiper already seem vaguely retarded to you, then you can imagine where these
> prep scouting service bottom feeder stringers rank in terms of credibility,
> education, experience and knowledge compared to guys who rise to the top posts
> in an NBA front office. Maybe the whole basketball profession is stacked
> top-to-bottom with genuine morons, but I'll still have to take Wallace's
> judgement over what I read on any scouting service. Unfortunately, that's the
> only "no brainer" pick that's out there.
> 
> ***


>** --------- End Original Message ----------- **

>