RE: Hardaway/Strickland; Cheap Gaston

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@xxxxxxxxx>]

I know one can't necessarily call Gaston cheap when he
agreed to take on a third max-year player. But there's
no question that deal was structured in large part to
achieve a short-term savings. Look, it's entirely
possible Baker will rejuvenate his career and lead the
Celtics to the promised land. But if it were my team,
I would've shelled out $3 mil or so to re-sign Rogers
and Strickland, kept together the core of a team that
came within two wins of the NBA finals, and taken my
chances. What we've got now is a huge experiment that
could blow up in our faces, in the name of not
exceeding the luxury tax. It's been said before, but
Gaston should get out of the game if he's not willing
to meet the ante.

I tend to agree with those who say the Cs should make
some sort of dramatic move to keep up w/ NJ's
improvements: say, signing Travis Best, the best FA
point guard out there. I'd start by offering the $1.4
mil exemption, which may be more than Best can get
elsewhere in this market. But since others may be
willing to go higher, and because Best isn't
necessarily a panacea, I'd also be happy to see the
Celtics re-sign Strickland, who I doubt can command
more than $1.4 mil. He may not be a starting PG on
most teams, but he played well for Boston last year
and is a better option, for a number of reasons, than
trying to start S Williams or Delk. If Stickland
stays, the Cs have basically kept the team intact with
one major change: exchanging Kenny and Rogers for
Williams and Baker. I'm willing to live with that
trade-off if the Cs can get competent play at the
point, but I'm not confident that will happen with
Williams/Delk (or another bargain-basement signee like
Damon Jones) running the point.

I like Strick better than another, similar player
whose name has been bandied about here, Greg Anthony.
Anthony may be a purer point who can run an offense
better, but he's a dreadful shooter, and Strick can
provide the same defense and toughness in a bigger,
stronger package. I'll admit I'm also intrigued by the
Hardaway factor, but since it's questionable how much
Tim has left in the tank, and since it's already gonna
be hard getting enough shots for Pierce, Walker and
Baker, I don't know that Hardaway is the best option.
Strickland at least gives them a solid place to start
from and another asset if, as Ray suggests, they need
to pull a deal during the season to land a "big time"
point. (And by the way, I don't think that should be
Cassell. Much as I agree that would be exciting, I go
back to the sharing-the-basketball thing.)

Anyway, that's my rant.  
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com