my thoughts on the trade

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

Some of us, including me, were asking Wallace & Co, to get  help for this
team *this* season, and we got it (not to imply a causal relationship here
or anything). We no longer have the weakest bench in the NBA. We didn't get
a real PF/C type, nor a real PG, but we improved.  While not a true PF,
Rogers is beefy and adds some post presence; Delk, while not  a true PG, is
an improvement over Milt and Strickland (as PG). They immediately make the
Celtics' top 5 offensively (admittedly, not hard to do once you get past
our All-Stars). 

Obviously, one's view of this trade hinges on what one thinks will become
of Joe Johnson, as Delk and Rogers are known commodities, Milt and Randy
are cap fodder, and the pick is low. Regardless of what Wallace & Obie
spout about JJ tomorrow, they obviously determined that his mental issues
will not allow him to take full advantage of his basketball abilities. No
team would give up a player of JJ's talent if they didn't think he had some
major psychological issues. If anybody in the NBA knows, Obie and Wallace
should. We'll see in a few years how good they are at psychological
evaluations. 

Likewise, Obie should know Delk inside and out, having coached him at UK,
and so do Walker and McCarty. While the latter's opinion is probably
irrelevant, the likelihood is high that both Walker and Pierce were
consulted about this trade and gave it thumbs up. So that should take care
of the chemistry issue. Rogers, of course, was on the list of desirables
identified by Pitino et al. While the proposed Rogers-for-Battie swap was
pooh-poohed by this list (including me) at the time, we now see that Pitino
wasn't totally loony about some these players (J. O'Neal, Alvin Williams,
Rogers etc.). Wasn't  Delk one of those 'hidden gems' as well? In any case,
now we have them both without  giving up our only talented big guy, and
this is very good news for our playoff run. 

Kestas