Re: Response to Mark Berry

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@nyc.rr.com>]

I will say that I don't keep up with the Celts more than the rest
of us, nor do I have any claim to "inside info."  Everything I hear
I publish.  Chris Wallace was good enough to call me and give me
his number; that's why it pains me to have believe that the wheels
have come off his credibility...unless there is a part two.  All these
moves are creating a lot of cap room.  Walter comes off the cap,
we trade Kenny to the old age home he belongs in (I can see him
deliberating over checkers now), and maybe move somebody else
like Vitaly or Forte...we could be looking at acquiring somebody
really good in a year or two.  But somehow it doesn't feel like that
to me.  I'm glad Mark, Bill Simmons, Fred Carter, Bob Ryan, and
many other very knowledgeable basketball people like the trade.  I
don't.  I think we had enough scoring talent on the team as is; the
Celtics don't really play as a team on offense, and so all the players
other than Paul and Antoine underachieve.  Adding better spot-up
shooters or swapping Eric Williams' low post game for Rodney Rogers'
isn't going to change that.  The one thing that made the Van Exel deal
palateable was that he was a truly creative penetrating guard, the kind
of guy that makes things happen.  Maybe Omar Cook does the same
thing for you.  But my sense is that as long as the offense is a walk-up
two man isolation game orbited by distant shooting stations, we will
continue to be a very bad offensive team.  We needed a guy like Van
Exel; we still do.  The numbers may not show
it, but the Celtics almost never lose because of defense.  And it's not
the reserves, either.  It's the offense, and it needs a floor general to
run it on the fast break, and to run it when Antoine has big people on him.

How did Delk look out there?

p.s. What ever happened to Alex Wang?  He got my own vote for the
most rational man on the list.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Troy Hash" <troyhash@kih.net>
To: "celtics list" <celtics@igtc.com>; "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@nyc.rr.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2002 3:52 PM
Subject: Re: Response to Mark Berry


> Even Josh who keeps up with the Celts probably more than anyone agrees,
this is insanity and will have long term repercussions that makes me sick to
even think about.
> Troy
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@nyc.rr.com>
> Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 10:15:22 -0500
>
> >I liked reading Mark's post because it lifted my gloom temporarily.
> >I knew he would like this trade.  But riddle me this, Batman --
> >even if you like Rogers and feel he brings something important
> >to the team, can you see trading a long-term asset for only two
> >months of his services?  We can't even sign-and-trade him at
> >the end of the season.  So it's like we're trading Joe Johnson and
> >a first round pick for Tony Delk.  Madness.
> >
> >
> >Josh