We should get a no. 1

[Bob McChesney <rwmcches@xxxxxxxx>]

The Baker deal is confusing. It clearly has no long term vision. By making 
the deal we are locked into an enormous and untradeable contract for a 
mediocre player whose game has fallen precipitously over the past four 
years. Think of Eric Williams on steroids. Based on performance and 
potential, he hardly deserves more than Bruno Sundov, and nowhere near as 
much as Rodney Rogers, who at least has a professional attitude. As he is 
getting more then $10 million in each of the next four years, it means the 
Cs have abandoned the idea of creating cap room over the next two seasons 
as Anderson and Williams finish their deals. We are left to the draft (and 
very good luck) as the only way to significantly improve our talent level 
for the next four years. Yikes!

The only way this deal gets a long term component, therefore, is if the Cs 
get at least one Seattle no. 1 pick. I don't think that is very much to ask 
for. My God we are doing Seattle a huge favor taking this dead weight off 
their payroll. When the Cs made the Mercer deal they got a no. 1 from 
Denver in exchange for taking Eric William's terrible contract. They should 
get at least that here. The old Chris Wallace seemed to think that way. The 
new Chris Wallace (courtesy of ThanksDad?) doesn't like no. 1 picks, for 
some strange bizarre unexplainable reason. Call it Pitino-itus.

The other justification for the deal might be that it makes the Cs a legit 
contender this coming season, as Baker is soon to be 31 and on the downhill 
slope of his career. But no one who has seen Baker play since 1997 or 1998 
would find this convincing. He barely could maintain a place in the Seattle 
rotation, and Seattle was hardly a powerhouse at the 4 and the 5. Further 
evidence for this theory is that the deal clears a million or so in 
immediate cap space that might be enough to keep Rodney Rogers in town. But 
someone would have to be a heroin addict to think this Cs team could 
possibly win an NBA title. All we are doing is pushing the inevitable 
return trip to the lottery off a couple of years. Talk about horse manure 
GM work! (But, by then, Wallace and O'Brien will be long gone and they can 
blame ThanksDad, whose head is so far up his you-know-what that he won't 
have a clue.)

And then, of course, there is the point guard void if Kenny goes. I gather 
the Cs might toss away Joe Forte to pick up a third tier talent. Hell, who 
needs another 21 year old prospect who might actually become a decent 
player if you are patient when you can locate some deadbeat no other team 
wants.

Red Auerbach must be spending the whole day throwing up. What is this, the 
Ted Stepien model for running a franchise into the rocks? At some point, in 
two or three years, Paul Pierce may well wise up and say "get me out of 
here," and I won't blame him in the least.


Robert W. McChesney
Your Man in Urbana
Institute of Communications Research
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
www.robertmcchesney.com