Re: musings

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

Gene Kirkpatrick wrote:

> Watching some good playoff games and thinking:  we sure need a good
> spot-up shooter to win big games.  Battie and Vitaly may be ok on that
> point, but we're weak at the guard and SF spots.  Williams, Brown,
> Palacio won't get it.  There's value in a Forte type scorer.
>
> We also need a creator point guard who can get in the lane.  Toronto's
> Alvin R. looks pretty good with that floater.
>
> Most of all, I think, is the need for a monster rebounder to go
> alongside Walker.  Other than Rodney White (is that the guy from
> Charlotte?), I don't see anyone doing that job.  Still, this just gets
> better and better.  Of course, I was sorry to see the Bulls drop to
> fourth--really, really sorry.

Good points. What happened yesterday to the Bulls IMO tips the scales in
making this a "successful" lotto, along with retaining rights to the
Denver pick. How long has Krause and the Chicago media mocked our Boston
Celtics as the "wrong way to rebuild". Sure we are in the 9th year of our
5-year plan, but fate played the biggest role (Bias, Lewis, Duncan).

Bummer for Jerry Krause, not only is he locked out of a likely
double-double forward like Eddie Griffin to pair with Elton Brand, but
they also probably lose out on hometown "Baby Shaq" Eddie Curry. Oh, how
sad!

I think we shouldn't underestimate how important it is to try to get a
second double-double rebounder and preferably a good defender or
shotblocker to boot. As far as rebounding, Rodney White actually doesn't
fit the bill at all. In some ways White is the least glaring "need" pick
out there, since his perimeter shooting, post up and dribbling game
seemingly duplicates that of Antoine's. One or the other may in a few
years make each other redundant/tradeable, either because White is
potentially a more efficient scorer or because Antoine is a much better
rebounder and passer. One minor thing about White is that he's not a true
freshman. He sat out a full season because of a dispute about his high
school transcript.

You can't assume a guy's age by his school class. Others, like Michael
Bradley, for example, had to sit out a full transfer year. Gilbert Arenas,
it is worth noting, was an 18-year-old sophomore at Arizona last year.
He's another intriguing player with the third pick, having stepped up to
lead a tremendously talented Arizona team in scoring and having few
weaknesses in his game.

There is also Cisse, who is very intriguing because he seems like a
potentially great rebounder, shotblocker and defender. My hunch is he
probably goes later than #11 but higher than #21, unless he has atrocious
workouts in which case he isn't worth picking at all. I hope Boston
invites him for a workout. It will also be useful to verify his true age,
since he's from a poor country Mali (yet another French speaker) and those
who recruited him to America sound amazingly unscrupulous (in fact, his
scumbag agent actually legally adopted him so he can retain eligibility,
how convenient). Cisse's actual father is a school principal and his
mother is a teacher out there in Bamako, so I think his background is
pretty solid.

All in all, I'm also satisfied with yesterday's result and Boston's draft
position. It may not be top-heavy this year, but this sounds like a very
deep draft in terms of potential. Marty Blake reportedly said that there
are kids who won't even be drafted in the two rounds whom he thinks will
have NBA careers. IMO if recent #1 overall picks like "Kandi-girl" or
Kenyon Martin were in this year's draft, they would probably be competing
with the likes of Loren Woods, Shane Battier, Rodney White and Joe Johnson
as potential Celtics picks at #10 and #11.

On the other hand, if Boston decides to draft an underclassman or prep
player, Wallace and Papile do need to be very careful and unbiased in
their analysis. The Terence Morris situation is a cautionary tale. That
guy was a lock to be a lottery pick in his sophomore year. Now he could be
one of those guys that Marty Blake is referring to when he talks about
players who might not even get drafted. It's not that he's a bad guy, or
hasn't worked hard. They just projected his "upside" wrong.

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