Herald: latest update on Herren

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

	The latest Herald blanket coverage explains some of our 
questions...non-guaranteed contract, half-a-million dollars if he stays on 
the roster all year.

	I read my reply to Mark and realize I didn't phrase the first part 
appropriately at all, so I apologize. My sentiment is that I made a factual 
observation. Too casual, but factual.

	I read maybe one article about Paul Pierce and at least a half-a-dozen 
that lead or headlined with the Herren story over the past weeks. And I'm 
only counting those before he had anything to do with the Celts roster. 
That's "hype" guys. If you saw this imbalance in favor of Dana Barros, it 
would be factually labeled "Great Local Boy Hype".

	But in my mind this observation has nothing to do with the Celtics 
organization. It has nothing to do with Red Auerbach. It was a factual 
observation (Great White Hype) that wouldn't have offended me if it were 
thrown at me. I certainly didn't intend to offend Mark Berry whom I respect 
a lot. I've done worse to put my foot in my mouth and its a safe bet I'll 
eventually do it again, but that's a different issue.

	Did the media's blanket coverage induce Gaston or Pond to reconsider 
un-blocking the 15th roster spot? Who cares at this point?

	I want Chris Herren to succeed. I'm from Boston too (well right across the 
Charles River at least) and I had no problem hoping guys like Kevin Stacom 
and Ernie DiGregorio would live up to their potential.

	Buried in an article this week, Springer quoted Paul Pierce claiming he 
watched all 82 games from last year on video at least four times each. Wow, 
that's the kind of stuff I like to hear. I'd love for Chris Herren to do 
the same thing with some old Mark Price videos from the 80s. He's got to 
learn to face a complex defense and simplify it, slow it down, trust in his 
three relative strengths as a player (some shooting, some court vision, 
some feistiness apparently).

	I'm not convinced he's the right fit in a point forward system (except as 
a spot-up shooter), but if he's good enough the system will adjust to him.

	Jim Hill is probably right that Herren has a better chance in Boston than 
a Khalid El-Amin. Both wouldn't get minutes anyway unless they played good 
defense, but at least Herren is a consistent outside shooter when his head 
is in the game.

	Anyway, here's some blurbs from the Herald article about our great, ahem, 
"pink" hope. ;-) Fall River's Oscar Meyer Bologna Boy.

Joe

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http://www.bostonherald.com/sport/basketball/cs10052001.htm

True enough, Herren was signed to a make-good deal. He got a little 
up-front money, but that amount will basically balance what it took to make 
a clean break with Fortitudo. As a third-year NBA player, the minimum for 
Herren is in the $540,000 range if he stays the season.

(....)

Herren thought he would be working his posterior off in Italy, taking the 
opportunity to get a good contract, play a lot of minutes and explore a new 
land with his young family. What he found when he arrived there wasn't what 
he expected.

``We had a different outlook on it before we left, and our mindset changed 
once we got there,'' he said of himself and wife Heather. ``We thought it 
was going to be different than it was, and we changed our mind.

``I was expecting to be there for six months, and my contract went for 11 
months. I thought there were like 50 games and there were 100 - like 75 
games plus 30 `friendly' games. So things changed a little bit, and I think 
it would be unfair to my wife to keep her in a foreign country with two 
kids and to give birth there (to the second). That's a hard job, and I 
wouldn't want to put that on anybody.''