Re: If

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Gene, I respect your opinion, but really have to disagree on some points...
1.	Haywood... You know how long it took Jordan to dispel the concerns
about Haywood? One phone call to Chapel Hill. That's what he did. Haywood
was available, Jordan called some old contacts and coaches, they squashed
the work ethic questions, and the deal was made. Seems reasonable to expect
Wallace to do the same thing-before the draft.
2.	JJ over Gasol... Come on! Gasol is 7-feet, averaging about 17 points
and 9 rebounds per game and blocking shots. He's shooting 50 percent from
the field. He's a good 3-point shooter. He's great, and keeps getting
better. JJ keeps getting worse. You want a reason to be concerned about JJ,
that's it-he's not getting better at all. He's regressing. It's not "hitting
the wall" either, because it started after seven games. The truth is, the
Celtics' future probably would be a lot brighter if they had traded Antoine
for Gasol, Lorenzen Wright and Brevin Knight (the deal the Grizzlies made
for Abdur-Rahim). This season wouldn't have been as good, but the future
would have been.
3.	Forte the best of the bunch... Based on what? The fact that he can't
get playing time ahead of Milt Palacio? He's a two-year starter at North
Carolina, playing against ACC teams night-in and night-out, but spends most
of his time on the IL with fake injuries. I know he was a good college
player, but there is no indication at all that he'll be a good pro player.

I realize you have to have patience (unless it's Moiso, then he's officially
a bust after his first exhibition game), but we're dealing with college
players, not high-schoolers. They have to show progress. These guys may turn
out to be decent role players and contributors, but other than Kedrick I
don't see all-star potential. I hope I'm wrong. I hope JJ turns out better
than Gasol and Forte is even better than that, but all the signs suggest
otherwise.
Mark