A few more things on the draft...

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

I don't know if this Demos guy or any of these Euros can play, but none of
them make Rodney Rogers expendable (and neither does Songaila). Rogers is a
legit three-position player and proven commodity. He's also a bargain at
$3-4 million a year.

BUT... There's plenty of room for Songaila and DD. The Celtics have the
thinnest frontcourt in the NBA. These guys could split minutes at backup PF
and C. I absolutely believe Songaila, who I've seen play a few times, can
contribute more than Mark Blount. Vitaly won't be ready when the season
starts. The only free agent the Celtics should be concerned about is Rogers.
Strickland, McCarty, Blount, McLeod... they're luxuries, and if the Celtics
are counting pennies (and apparently they are), you can't afford luxuries.
Use your pennies for Rogers and fill out the roster with cheaper talent
(like Songaila and DD). The idea that there's no room for these guys is
nuts. And throwing precious $$$$ around for McCarty, Blount and even
Strickland (I like him, but you have Delk and Kedrick, not to mention Forte
eating up a roster spot), just isn't wise. These guys are marginal at best,
and can be replaced with cheaper players. How many DNPs did those guys have?
I'm quite sure Songaila and DD can rack up DNPs at a cheaper rate. If you're
going to pay guys not to play, then pay the cheaper guys.

I just don't understand why you would risk losing such a low-cost
contributor as Songaila. If you're in a money crunch, it seems like you'd
bend over backward to find a cheap, second-round player who could fill out
your bench.

As for Rogers, if they lose this guy because they're afraid of a one-year
hit on the luxury tax, I'll be awfully angry. It's one year. You've just
established something with this team that you've been building for more than
10 years. He's an important part of it. Pitino let you off the hook for
millions of dollars. If you have to dip into that to pay the one-year luxury
tax hit that Rogers entails (and it wouldn't be a huge hit), then do it. You
got the fans back with this playoff run. You can use them just as quickly if
you start playing poorhouse, lose Rogers and fall back in the Eastern
Conference while teams like NY and Miami aggressively try to improve.

One other random thought...

Did anyone else think last night's draft telecast was the worst in recent
memory? Barkley and Kenny Smith are entertaining, and I'm glad they were
involved, but they really bring very little to the table when evaluating
these players. Kenny almost completely dismissed the Euro trend by calling
it a fad. He talked about guys being winners and how that should count for
something... as if it doesn't matter if you're a 6-2 shooting guard or a 6-6
power forward. It's not a knock on those great college players; the games
are entirely different. Anyway, they really need a "draft guru" like an Andy
Katz-someone who lives and breathes this stuff. They need their own Mel
Kiper Jr. Rick Pitino and Rick Majerus filled that role in the past and were
adequate because they were completely plugged into the NBA. They tried Quinn
Snyder this year, but he was too soft-spoken, had nothing but nice things to
say and just didn't offer much. Hubie Brown is good at breaking down the
players he knows, but he isn't as good at really analyzing the draft-no one
mentioned Dan Dickau was still on the board at 28, even though that was a
huge slide for him. Just seemed to be a real gap in the coverage. I'm
looking forward to ESPN handling it next year with Katz, David Aldridge,
Chad Ford, Jack Ramsay, etc.