Re: Was it worth it? Yes!

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Neal wrote:

Especially when you look at how thhis team has drafted under Wallace, we
most likely would have ended up with another couple Moisos.

--- end ---

Neal, I agree that the Rogers trade was worth it. That was a chance Wallace
had to take. It was his only good move to this point.

It was the above quote I wanted to comment on. You're right, Wallace has
botched the draft. What bothers me is the opinion I sense from some-not
you-that the draft is a crapshoot and draft picks don't help. The Celtics
have drafted so poorly for so long, that seems to be a common opinion among
Celtics fans. More importantly, and more relevantly, I'm afraid Wallace is
starting to take the same attitude.

He seems to have decided that the draft is simply a guessing game. That's
true only for bad scouts and GMs. The good ones always seem to find players,
even when everyone says they're not there. The bad ones always seem to find
busts, even when the draft seems loaded. Wallace definitely falls into the
latter category.

This is frightening. The draft is a team's lifeblood. Trades are important,
but the only way to acquire cheap, long-term talent is the draft. This
feeling I'm getting that Wallace is more or less throwing up his hands where
the draft is concerned really bothers me. First, the "draft three and hope
one pans out" debacle of 2001. Then the who-cares attitude toward this
year's draft. Why not make some changes? Dump Leo Papile and let him focus
full-time on his AAU team. Hire some real NBA scouts. Don't give up on the
draft because you're no good at it. Find someone who is good at it to help.

Don't be at all surprised if those two picks next year are shipped off at
the trading deadline next season to try to fix the problems created by the
Baker trade/loss of Kenny/departure of Rogers. Maybe it will work, maybe it
won't. But for every Rogers-Delk trade (that worked out, IMO), there's a
Potapenko-Andre Miller trade. That's the risk you run.

Mark