Re: Still cranky.

["pmaurice" <damekmo@teleport.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Berry, Mark S <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
>
> As for the earlier post on Forte/Omar Cook... I think it's obvious they
blew
> the draft. Johnson was a disappointment and Forte just a bad choice. I've
> harped on it for a long time and everyone tells me to get over it, so I'm
> trying to do just that. At least they recognized the Johnson mistake and
> turned it into something useful.

Useful? I'm not sure. But we'll soon find out. I just think that Delk is a
streaky shooter and if his shot's not going down, forget him. Rodney Rogers
doesn't rebound that well, I'm not sure he's a good defender anymore...can
he move without the ball anymore?....he can stand out there and take three's
and you hope they go down. Does he give you any inside offensive presence if
he's not down there banging away? He's Danny Fortson - lite and Danny is
another guy who gives you something at the cost of other things on the court
that don't, in my opinion, add up to an overall plus. But Danny at least
bangs and bangs and bangs all night long. Does this take the pressure off
Antoine and Paul? These guys are coming off the bench and yes, they give you
more than Palacio and Brown and Johnson "right now," but you just don't take
Delk's and Rogers' numbers and plug them into the lineup and say they
automatically give you that many points. Now, could they have gotten
something better with the #10 from last year and the #20+ this year along
with Kenny and whatever? I don't know. I don't know that they could've
gotten more for their draft picks and whomever last year. I don't know what
they tried to do last year and have no real info about what they tried to do
this year. All I know is that I'm not all that excited about adding these
two players to "this" team right now. I don't think they help enough. Maybe
Johnson does suck and everybody around the league knows it. Does this trade
give them a better shot this year than no trade at all? I'm not convinced,
but I could be and hope I'm wrong.

Cook is the developmental "true" point
> guard they should have taken instead of Forte. I hope Obie gives him a
> chance (it won't be this season, obviously, but in the summer and next
> season), but I worry that Omar won't be a good enough shooter for Obie's
> liking. We'll see.

Well, don't we already know the answer to that question? Maybe I'm jumping
the gun but can't we safely say that he's not a good enough shooter for
O'Brien's or anybody's taste for that matter? I mean, if they bring Omar
Cook in and actually use him I'm guessing that Forte can't even hit an open
shot. Omar doesn't create well enough to make his non-shooting acceptable.
Are you telling me that Forte is worse? Christ...I'm really getting more and
more depressed as I think about this. Fine...Van Exel gives you a pain in
your ass and your wallet, he burdens you like a financial plague of locusts
for years. Yeah...he's a crackpot. Ok...so forget him. But what this team
needs, aside from a non-high school center,  is someone who you can put out
on the floor every night and you can pretty much guarantee they'll be able
to create for themselves and at least have the ability to create for someone
else. Right now...there's Walker and.....I'm assuming we all want Pierce to
shoot and create for himself as often as possible because that's what he
does best, so I'm going with Walker and Walker. If you can't get a big man,
and can't get that point guard right now I understand. Don't trade. But if
you do trade...this is about as mediocre and inconsequential for this season
as they get. But...once again....I could be all wrong.

And Mark, I'm not trying to "mirror the Way" in all his absurdity this
morning. That was yesterday and I've learned my lesson.  For the love of
God, I'll never do that again. And if Way agrees with any of what I've
written I have to kill my children in order to stop the spread of the demon
seed that's obviously inside me. I hope you're right and this trade gives
them a better shot to go deeper into the playoffsor even "guarantees" them a
playoff spot. I'm just not sure.

Paul M.