NJ-Philly trade

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Assuming Mutombo continues to produce at his recent rate-10 ppg, 11 rpg,
3bpg-this makes Jersey the slam-dunk favorite in the East. He improves their
defense and rebounding drastically (as does the replacement of Van Horn with
Jefferson), and if you defend and rebound and have Jason Kidd, that means
lots of fast breaks. In fact, as good as their transition game was last
season, imagine it with Mutombo rebounding and blocking shots, Martin
swatting shots, and Martin, Jefferson and Kittles filling the lanes. Wow.
Mutombo and Martin may reduce Baker to a quivering, crying shell of a man.
Those are two tough hombres.

That's not to say there isn't a little downside to the deal for New Jersey.
MacCullouch actually was a pretty good low-post scorer. He averaged about 10
ppg himself, and he did it on efficient offense in the post. But the
positives to the deal far outweigh the negatives.

For Philly, it all depends on Iverson. Larry Brown clearly put the onus on
Iverson to adjust to his new teammates. He told him if he reduces his shots
from 30 to 20, then there will be plenty of shots to go around. I don't
believe that will happen.

The Sixers are a little like the Celtics. Their star really doesn't play
well with teammates. He has to do his thing. Surrounding him with role
players who defend and rebound and accept those roles allows them to win
with a star who takes the vast majority of the shots. But if you replace
those role players, defenders and rebounders with offensive-minded players
who don't do the other things well, there's a problem. Because they aren't
going to get to play to their strengths. Iverson will continue to take lots
of shots, but he won't have the defenders and rebounders around him. It's a
catch-22.

The Celts are similar, and it's one of the reasons I don't like the Baker
trade. Pierce and Walker are going to do their thing. They didn't really
have any success until the wraps came off completely-take every shot,
whenever and from wherever you want. That worked because they were
surrounded with guys who accepted it-Ewill, Battie, Kenny and eventually
Rogers and Delk. Those guys understood their roles and accepted them. I
forget who posted that the only guys who seem to be able to coexist with
Pierce and Walker are defenders/role players or bench shooters, but that's
exactly right. Baker isn't a defender, rebounder or role player. Even
without the baggage and salary concerns, I don't think he's a good fit. Hope
I'm wrong. If they make him the starting power forward alongside Battie and
Walker, that's a step in the right direction.

Anyway, that's my long-winded way of saying I don't think this trade will
work out well for Philly. I think they'll sacrifice defense, rebounding and
toughness in an effort to improve their offense, but I don't think that will
work because Iverson won't change for anyone.

Mark