Re: "Where's the beef?"

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

JB, thanks for posting this list. My preference is to resign Rogers. He's
not a center in the truest sense, but in the Eastern Conference, he is
effective because he can pull opposing centers away from the basket with his
shooting, while still being able to defend them with his bulk. Plus, he's
the backup PF and backup SF. A guy with his versatility is awfully valuable.

Having said that, there very well could be an Erick Strickland-like bargain
emerge from the free agent class. Not many of these guys are going to get
big money. Most of them will resign with their own teams. But a few will end
up taking scraps elsewhere. Here is my list of guys who may find themselves
in that position and who I'd like to see in Boston. Two notes: 1. I'm
ignoring guys who just don't figure to move or who will be too expensive
(Keon Clark, Jarron Collins); 2. I'm picking guys who would complement the
current team. The offensive style (or lack of one) the Celtics play may not
appeal to me, but this list reflects guys who would fit that style.

Here goes:

Cal Bowdler/Hanno Mottola: A pair of backup power forwards in Atlanta who do
the same things well-shoot face-up jumpers. That's valuable with the rule
changes. My guess is Atlanta only keeps one of these guys.

Matt Bullard/Dan Langhi: An ex-Rocket (Bullard) and a current Rocket
(Langhi) who could be brothers. They're both tall, thin three-point
specialists. They're used to the "spot up while the 'stars' attract the
triple-team" offense. Either of these guys could help.

Lee Nailon: Not likely to leave Charlotte, but I'm including him anyway. A
nice fit because he can score and rebound, but he's not a guy you have to
run plays for. A good complementary guy.

Michael Doleac: Not sure what happened to him in Orlando, but he's another
face-up shooter at the C/PF spot. Better range than Vitaly. Could be a good
fit with the Celts. (I'm really not zeroing in on white guys on purpose-I'm
just looking for guys who would fit around what the C's already have.)

Walt Williams: He has been overpriced for so long, you forget how valuable
he can be. He has a lot of Joe Johnson in him, only he's more aggressive. He
might be one of those veterans who people forget about.

Predrag Drobnjak/Jerome James/Art Long/Olumide Oyedeji: Basically, the
Seattle frontcourt. Proof positive (along with Rashard Lewis, their small
forward and the best of the bunch) that second-round picks do count. Each of
these guys has some positives. Anyone who watched the C's play in Seattle
this year remembers Drobnjak. He had a great game. He's a big, slow-footed,
soft-shooting PF/C. James is the athletic physical presence the C's lack at
center. Oyedeji is a young project big man most C's fans probably remember
as the guy Jerome Moiso reputedly "dominated" in a pre-draft workout for the
C's. Art Long is a former UC Bearcat who once punched out a police horse.
After the pansy way the C's handled the Nets, I'm looking for a few good
horse-punchers.

Anyway, that's it. Take it for what it's worth (nothing!). Again, there are
other guys out there I'd love to see in green, but I tried to look at guys
who might actually be available for cheap.

Mark




 From HOOPSWORLD.com

FREE AGENCY
FREE AGENT CLASS OF 2002
By
May 14, 2002, 12:19pm

CONTRACTS ENDING IN 2002

Troy Hudson ........... Johnny Newman .........
Mark Blount ........... Wang Zhizhi ...........
Walter McCarty ........ Chris Andersen ........
Roshown McLeod ........ Calbert Cheaney .......
Erick Strickland ...... Zendon Hamilton .......
Malik Allen ........... Voshon Lenard .........
Ernest Brown .......... George McCloud ........
Kendall Gill .......... Raef LaFrentz ..........
Eddie House ........... Kenny Satterfield .....
Jim Jackson ........... Scott Williams ........
Mike James ............ Tierre Brown ..........
Sean Marks ............ Dan Langhi ............
Vladimir Stepania ..... Oscar Torres ..........
Rod Strickland ........ Walt Williams .........
Anthony Johnson ....... Kevin Willis ..........
Donny Marshall ........ Isaac Austin ..........
Brian Scalabrine ...... Rodney Buford .........
Lavor Postell ......... Antonis Fotsis ........
Larry Robinson ........ Grant Long ............
Felton Spencer ........ Willie Solomon ........
Pat Garrity ........... Dean Garrett ..........
Monty Williams ........ Felipe Lopez ..........
Raja Bell ............. Sam Mitchell ..........
Corie Blount .......... Radoslav Nesterovic ...
Matt Harpring ......... Anthony Peeler ........
Derrick McKey ......... Gary Trent ............
Jabari Smith .......... Loren Woods ...........
Popeye Jones .......... Bruce Bowen ...........
Tyrone Nesby .......... Jason Hart ............
Bobby Simmons ......... Cherokee Parks ........
Cal Bowdler ........... Terry Porter ..........
Hanno Mottola ......... Malik Rose ............
Leon Smith ............ Jarron Collins ........
Mark Strickland ....... John Crotty ...........
Jacque Vaughn ......... Donyell Marshall ......
Matt Bullard .......... Bryon Russell .........
Lee Nailon ............ John Starks ...........
Robert Traylor ........ Gilbert Arenas ........
Greg Anthony .......... Mookie Blaylock .......
A.J. Guyton ........... Cedric Henderson ......
Trenton Hassell ....... Larry Hughes ..........
Charles Oakley ........ Dean Oliver ...........
Kevin Ollie ........... Obinna Ekezie .........
Ricky Davis ........... Harold Jamison ........
Michael Doleac ........ Jeff McInnis ..........
Trajan Langdon ........ Michael Olowokandi ....
Brian Skinner ......... Eric Piatkowski .......
Victor Alexander ...... Eldridge Recasner .....
Dana Barros ........... Jelani McCoy ..........
Brian Cardinal ........ Stanislav Medvedenko ..
Damon Jones ........... Mitch Richmond ........
Mikki Moore ........... Brian Shaw ............
Travis Best ........... Joe Crispin ...........
Norman Richardson ..... Dan Majerle ...........
Carlos Rogers ......... Rodney Rogers .........
Bruno Sundov .......... John Wallace ..........
Rafer Alston .......... Ruben Boumtje Boumtje .
Greg Foster ........... Rick Brunson ..........
Darvin Ham ............ Mitchell Butler .......
Mark Pope ............. Chris Dudley ..........
Michael Redd .......... Bonzi Wells ...........
Chris Childs .......... Mike Bibby ............
Keon Clark ............ Lawrence Funderburke ..
Dell Curry ............ Predrag Drobnjak ......
Jermaine Jackson ...... Jerome James ..........
Charlie Bell .......... Rashard Lewis .........
Greg Buckner .......... Art Long ..............
Eduardo Najera ........ Olumide Oyedeji .......
Earl Watson ...........