Re: Bremer makes his move

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

At this point, I just don't see it with Bremer. He's just a rookie, and he
could improve, but he has a loooong way to go to be a David Wesley, or even
an Eric Strickland-the guy I've seen him most compared to in the past. Right
now, I see a decent defensive player who doesn't have a clue on the
offensive end. Not a clue. He can't shoot. He doesn't get the ball to the
right people. Watching him shoot now, it's amazing he scored as many points
as he did in college. He's not a point guard-not that this team has (or
needs, apparently) a point guard. But, he's an undrafted rookie. There's no
reason to expect anything from him.

As for Shammond, I completely agree that he seems to have lost his
confidence. He's hesitating too much, passing up shots he should take and
taking shots he shouldn't. Have other teams scouted him well enough to take
away some of the things he likes to do? Are they making him uncomfortable
out there? I don't know, but with Shammond playing this way, the team really
misses Delk.

And Kedrick... poor, lost Kedrick. Like you said, Obie is in the business of
winning, and Kedrick isn't doing anything to help the team win. Most of the
time he's invisible out there. Occasionally, he fires up a brick from
3-point range. Offensively, if it isn't a spot-up 3-pointer (which he
usually misses), he has no idea how to find a shot. For all the talk about
how good he could be defensively, he really isn't that good. He makes a few
plays on pure athleticism-blocked shots, rebounds-but that's it. He's not a
lost cause, but he's much, much further away than I think any of us had
hoped. He may blossom, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that it isn't
likely to happen here. Best case scenario for Kedrick, he develops like
Ricky Davis did-a similar raw athlete who very slowly blended that
athleticism with a little bit of basketball sense. But Davis was on his
third or fourth team before it happened, and he's still far from a polished
product.

The problem with trading Kedrick and the two draft picks is you're not
likely to get much in return. Last season, he still was the mysterious
junior college guy. Now he's an ineffective second-year player and
borderline lottery bust. You might get a salary dump from someone, but do we
want to deal away one lottery pick and two draft picks in the upcoming draft
for a salary dump? The guy better be a solid contributor for a long
time-probably someone who could take all those small forward minutes that go
to Eric Williams and Walter McCarty. Other than that, can you really see
anyone coming in here and making an impact on the rotation? I can't.

When Bremer, Kedrick and Bruno were in there last night, I thought it really
hit home just how poorly Chris Wallace has gone about filling in around the
edges of this team. All those draft picks and free-agent signings and not a
thing to show for it. Every time I see Bruno play, I shake my head at
Wallace and Papile claiming this guy would have been a top-seven pick. I
really think they have a problem identifying basketball players. They can
find shooters. They can find athletes. But they haven't done a good job at
all of finding basketball players. They look at Bruno and see a 7-2 guy who
can shoot the 3-pointer (in warm-ups) and say he'd be a lottery pick and can
replace Rodney Rogers as the backup center pulling opposing big men away
from the basket. Like it's that simple. They see Kedrick run and jump and
shoot stand-still 3-pointers (in warm-ups) and say he's another McGrady or
Kobe. Again, like it's that simple. 

The sad truth is, the core of this team through Pierce and Walker's prime
years is going to be Pierce, Walker, Battie, Eric Williams and Delk. They've
squandered their best chances to add any help. Now they're looking at late
first-round picks and year-to-year forays into the NBA scrap heap to fill
the roster around Baker's bloated contract. Even Shammond is likely to be
gone after this season, when he's a free agent.

Geez, I didn't mean this to turn into another downer of a post. THIS SEASON
still seems very promising. I think they're contenders in the East. But the
blown opportunities just seem so glaring and frustrating, that sometimes
it's hard to ignore.

Mark



Djessen33 wrote:

Bremer made his move last night to replace S Williams. I love his pesky 
defense. He also has a great deal of confidence, even though his shots
didn't 
fall last night. He also penetrates much better than Shammond. Bremer's 
problem is that is just doesn't look flashy. He reminds me of David Wesley 
during the ML years.  Shammond has totally lost his confidence in his
shot....

Obie had Baker and Kedrick on a real short leash last night. Baker gets a 
technical foul for arguing a call and gets yanked by Obie. Walker gets a T a

few minutes later but he doesn't get yanked. Kedrick replaces PP and a mixup

on the defensive end allows a open three. The Cs bring it down, pass it to 
Kedrick and he gets called for traveling and Obie instantly yanks him for 
Pierce. Obie may be a great X and O coach but we haven't seen if he can 
develop players. I can't see Kedrick being able to develop if he doesn't
have 
minutes or the opportunity to make mistakes. Obie is in the business of 
winning games, not developing players. Therefore, look for the Cs to trade 
Kedrick and those no. 1s we got coming up. You go with the trend and your 
strengths....

DJessen33