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pitino's dumbest move?
Title: pitino's dumbest move?
I was just reading something today that made me think about when
Pitino first got here (let me say that i was ecstatic when he came
on.....but because of his complete ineptitude as a GM and ridiculous
substitution patterns/inflexibility as a coach, i was almost as
ecstatic when he left).
I think renouncing David Wesley go was one of the dumbest moves
(and there are a lot) he made -- because it is still affecting us.
I am still amazed that Pitino didn't realize what kind of talent
he had in Wesley. If he had bothered to watch even some of the
film fromt he previous year (or hell, even looked at the stats), he
would have seen that Wesley liked to push the ball, could defend and
hit the open shot. Plus i've always thought he was just a
solid, solid guy -- never complained when he was here (through the
M.L. mess) and always hustled (even through the M.L. mess).
Here's a comparison of his stats the year before Pitino got here and
last season (when he was a key in the Hornets success):
G
MIN
PCT
FT/PCT 3PCT
ST
TO
REB
AST
PTS
96-97
Bos
74
40.4
46.8
78.1
36.0
2.2
2.9
3.6
7.3 16.8
00-01
Cha
82
37.9
42.2
79.9
37.6
1.6
2.1
2.7
4.4 17.2
If i remember correctly Wesley wasn't looking to break the bank
as a FA and would have liked to stay in Boston -- who gave him his
first real chance to shine. if pitino keeps wesley:
1. The need for a point guard isn't so paramount and he
doesn't reach for Billups at #3 (can we assume it was a reach and not
a total misjudgement of talent? Billups is showing something in
Minn. and might have been a good pick @ #6)
Maybe we take Mercer (3) and Tim Thomas? Mercer &
McGrady (i don't say this in hindsight but b/c supposedly Wallace was
pushing to take him)? Thomas & D. Anderson (i think even Pitino
was scared off by his knee injury -- didn't he say he was the best
player on the 95 Championship team?). Obviously different draft
scenarios change the trajectory of the team, but McGrady & Thomas
both developed about the same speed for the first few years as Mercer
(and have surpassed him since).
2. If we don't take Billups, we don't dump Billups and get
stuck with Kenny Anderson & his contract.
3. Current roster arguably has more value (Wesley &
Tim Thomas/McGrady, vs. Anderson & Battie) and more cap
flexibility for the last few years.
I just hope Wallace & O'Brien are more adept at talent
evaluation!
-Mark Piotrowski