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FW: [Celtics' Stuff Stats for Bryon Russell
Great to have you back Joe,
I agree about the importance of veterans, even marginal ones. But what does
Russell give that Strickland or even Eric Williams do not? I'm not saying
"Don't bring in Bryon Russell because it takes minutes away from JJ and
Kedrick..." Believe me, the team is better off right now with anyone taking
minutes away from JJ. Kedrick-we'll see next year. But is Russell going to
take minutes away from Strickland or Williams? What does he offer? Nothing.
This isn't the Russell of thee or four years ago. The only reason for making
this trade is to dump the last year of Randy Brown's contract and the
first-round pick contract. You can say you're not excited about this
draft... and I understand that. But that pick could end up being somewhere
around 15 when you consider the improving teams in the East and the Celts'
schedule and recent struggles. This isn't the talent-rich draft of last
season, but there certainly could be some help available. This isn't about
cap room or filling a need. It's a money move, and it's giving away an
asset. It's terrible.
By the way, this luxury tax thing is really starting to bother me. What is a
rookie contract from the mid-first round worth? $1 million? Let's say that's
the difference between the luxury tax and no luxury tax. So you pay the $1
million for the rookie and another $1 million in tax. But teams under the
tax threshold also cash in on the tax paid by teams over the threshold. They
get a little windfall. It's not like the team is losing its own money. It's
sacrificing "found money." I think there's a difference, and it rubs me the
wrong way. Are you in it to win, or to line your pockets? Besides, in the
Celtics' case, you're only talking about one year, because they go way under
the cap in 2003. And another point... the Celtics received a huge financial
boost when Pitino walked away. Saved them millions. Why not apply some of
those savings toward the roster? They budgeted for $5 mill-plus for Pitino
anyway, right? Seems to me Gaston is making out pretty well on the
coaching/luxury tax front.
I don't see any defense for this kind of move. None.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: hironaka@nomade.fr [mailto:hironaka@nomade.fr]
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2002 10:15 AM
To: Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com
Cc: celtics@igtc.com
Subject: RE: [Celtics' Stuff Stats for Bryon Russell
Hi Mark:
On the one hand, if Russell were the start of a three-way trade scenario it
wouldn't surprise me...it's just that Chris Wallace may not have the
capacity to hold two cell-phones and chew gum at the same time.
Maybe like you, I'm not convinced Bryon Russell is that valuable outside the
specific context of the settled lineup and HOF point guard that Utah has.
But here I'm using Eisley and Shandon Anderson as a basis for comparison.
These guys are lame. I'd prefer Kevin Gamble or Blue Edwards over Eisley or
Anderson. Or at least I wouldn't notice the difference.
On the other hand, we are presently talking about Boston's 22nd pick in the
draft at this stage. And I doubt I've ever been less enthusiastic in recent
years about an NBA draft (after picks 1-3 at least), or college and
highschool basketball in general than in 2002.
Knowing Walter and Randy Brown are hard to give away and will likely never
play again for Boston except to dangle as trade bait, there's not a whole
lot of downside to this trade. No downside or upside, basically. Its Russ
for a 20-25th pick most likely. This isn't a guy that's going to re-up for
much more than the veteran minimum, given that every team faces the lux cap
and the 2003 Kidd/Duncan sweepstakes.
To me, this trade is more or less like having a do-over with Bryant Stith or
Adrian G., while at the same time relieving our cap of Brown and McCarty.
And personally, I'm all for the rookies Kedrick and JJ waiting their turn
and learning a few tips from proven NBA vets who play the same position. As
strange as it sounds, one reason Boston has twice as many wins as Golden
State is because we play wingmen like Eric and Erick while they play rookies
like Jason Richardson. Its essentially the same reason a lot of on-paper,
overachieving 40+ win teams used to beat the holy crap of Boston's
Toine-Pierce-Mercer lineup without breaking a sweat.
Assuming NBA players peak more or less at 27 or so, there ought to be a
significant advantage in knowledge and physical maturity that separates
veterans from 20-year-olds. Every extra full season of experience you have
over someone in that sport likely provides an edge (particularly on the
defensive end where all is won and lost). A guy like Strickland has played
in over 250 more NBA games than Joe Johnson. That's basically the equivalent
of nine full college seasons. If he hasn't gained any advantage from that
experience, he's a retahd.
Even looking at NCAA ball these days, the successful teams so far mostly are
built around prosaic upperclassmen who are marginal first rounders at best.
> ---------- Initial message -----------
>
> From : "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
> To : "Celtic igtc list (E-mail)"
<celtics@igtc.com>, "Celtic yahoo list (E-mail)"
<celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com>
> Cc :
> Date : Thu, 14 Feb 2002 08:43:54 -0500
> Subject : [Celtics' Stuff Stats for Bryon Russell
>
> Here are some stats for potential trade target Bryon
Russell:
>
> 9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, .362 FG percentage, .262 3-
point percentage.
>
> I was just thinking that a swingman who shoots 36
percent from the floor and
> 26 percent from 3-point range was exactly what the
Celtics needed. This is
> like trading a first-round pick for Eric Williams....
>
> Of course, having him around would almost make
Antoine's shooting look good.
>
> I'm guessing Bryon would have been No. 1 on Leo
Papile's draft board...
>
> Do you think the Jazz offered B. Russell and Wallace
got confused?
>
> Mark
>
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