A man with a plan?

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

    Anyone else left scratching their head after reading this chat wrap?
    Wallace sounds like he has as many questions as we do.

    <A HREF="http://www.nba.com/celtics/chat_mailbox/transcript_wallace_020918.html";>http://www.nba.com/celtics/chat_mailbox/transcript_wallace_020918.html</A>

   Chris (Springfield, MA): Hi Chris, Great job rebuilding the C's! Are you 
hoping to still bolster the point guard position through a trade or the way 
Erick Strickland fell through the cracks last year? 

Chris Wallace: The answer would be in all likelihood that the opening day 
roster will include just 12 players. Currently we have 12 players under 
contract so unless something unforseeable happens, the current crop of guards 
we have will be the point guard rotation for the Celtics this year. 

Jerry (New York): Hey Chris, Who looks ready to at point for the C's? Will 
Antoine officially run the point at times? Thanks. 

Chris Wallace: It's too early to make a prediciton on who the starting point 
guard will be. However, the coaching staff has confidence in all the 
candidates. Shammond Williams has looked great in the recent workouts. He 
could be the best shooting point guard the Celtics have had in some time. 
Tony Delk is more of a two guard but he has such great defensive and outside 
shooting skills that he'll do well. Bremer was undrafted out of St. Bonny's, 
but he's a good defender, can hit the three-pointer and was the 
fourth-leading scorer in the nation last year. He played for some of the best 
coaches. So unless a trade occurs, which is unlikely, those guys (plus 
Antoine Walker) will handle the position. Antoine is so versatile and such a 
great ball-handler, plus so much of the offense runs through him, that I 
think we'll be fine this year. 

tom chalmers (NJ): Chris - I was very impressed with a guy on your summer 
league team named Mott. Will you have him in camp? 

Chris Wallace: Terquin Mott was undrafted coming out of Coppin State, has 
played in the CBA and abroad and has never been on a regular season NBA 
roster. He did an excellent job for us in the Shaw's summer league, but with 
a tight 12-man roster there is little room for him, so he probably will not 
be in training camp. This does not rule out looking at Terquin next summer as 
this season's Celtics roster contain five players who are on one-year 
contracts. 

Boston: You are doing an excellent job Mr. Wallace. How is Eric Williams 
progressing with his rehabilitation? 

Chris Wallace: We're very pleased with the work Eric has put in this summer 
and the results he has been getting on the court since rehabilitating the two 
minor surgeries he had earlier in the offseason. He had procedures done on a 
knee and a broken finger that hampered his shooting in the playoffs. 
Physically, he's in the best shape he's been in in some time. We're looking 
for contributions from him on offense and his defense and toughness has been 
instrumental to the Celtics comeback in the last year and a half. 

John Orlando, FL: How do you feel Vin Baker will fit in with the duo of 
Pierce and Walker in the aspect of offensive play distribution? 

Chris Wallace: It's too early to tell just how the offense will eventually 
look this season for the Celtics or what the shot selection will be. In 
addition to Vin Baker there are some other new players who bring intriguing 
offense like Shammond Williams and Bruno Sundov. It'll probably take not only 
the October preseason but maybe a month or two into the regular season to 
totally iron out all the offensive kinks and bring the combination of 
holdovers and newcomers onto the same page. 

Mark(Raleigh): Does the addition of Baker push Battie to the bench or do they 
fight it out in camp? 

Chris Wallace: Again, it's too early to tell what the starting lineup will 
look like. Vin Baker brings an accomplished resume to Boston. He's been an 
All-Star and an Olympian. However, don't rule Battie out as he was a major 
reason why the Celtics showed such dramatic defensive improvement last 
season. Tony did a great job of patrolling the lane as a team defender. And 
we're all eager to see what improvemnets he's made in the offseason to his 
overall game. Tony will be an integral part of this team again. 

Mark(Raleigh): Will you exercise the Philly pick next year ? 

Chris Wallace: For information's sake, the Philly pick is available if the 
76ers are in the playoffs this season. If Philly is a lottery team, then the 
Celts do not recieve the pick in 2003. If Philly's in the playoffs, we 
automatically receive the pick. Therefore I'm rooting for the 76ers to make 
the playoffs. Therefore a six or seventh seed would turn into a mid-level 
first rounder. We may not exercise the picks, but it's a tremendous luxury to 
go into the draft with two first-round picks. 

Wally (San Fran): Hi Chris, Hoping that you can shed a little light on your 
famous "4 year plan" - now that we are in Year 2 and made the ECF last 
season, what else do you think the club can do to improve? 

Chris Wallace: Even though the Celtics showed tremendous improvement last 
year. There's certainly more work to do. To begin with, the point guard 
position is a spot where our future is definitely is on the unknown side at 
this date, since Shammond Williams is in the last year in his contract and 
J.R. Bremer is an untested rookie. So that position could be in the same 
hands come next year or you could see a number of new faces at the point 
depending not only how our point guards play this year but some things like 
future contract negotioations. The Celtics are like 28 other teams in the 
league; we're always trying to get bigger and better up front and in many 
respects, the NBA is like the nuclear arms race. You just have to continue to 
add to your arsenal so you don't get left behind. 

josh: Is Kedrick Brown going to see some serious playing time this year? 

Chris Wallace: Kedrick Brown is in a position to see more playing time this 
year as we plan on only utilizing a 12-man roster and heading in to training 
camp he's definitely in the mix at both small forward and off guard. Last 
season Kedrick would have received more playing time but unfortunately he 
missed a month of the season in January and February after starting five 
striaght games due to a severe ankle injury. The trade with Phoenix which 
brought back Tony Delk also contributed to him seeing limited action the rest 
of the season. This year, though, there's opporunity there for Kedrick if he 
can earn it. 

derren(hawaii): Mr. Wallace, what are your thoughts on the Celtics heading 
into the coming season? How have they improved or regressed over last year's 
team? 

Chris Wallace: It's difficult to accurately assess whether the team has 
regressed or improved w/out the benefit of watching training camp and the 
exhibition season. While there have been some changes to the roster and five 
newcomers, the one thing I can say for certain is at least on paper this 
edition of the Celtics has more offensive weapons than any of the five 
previous Celtic teams I've been associated with. Shammond Williams is a 
terrific long-distance shooter and should be a very potent offensive player 
overall. JR Bremer was the fourth-leading scorer in the country last season. 
Vin Baker is a proven accomplished scorer who has performed at the All-Star 
level in the past. Bruno Sundov's ability to shoot the long ball and his 
overall offensive skills should be very beneficial in Coach O'Brien's system. 
And the last player we signed, Ruben Wolkowyski, can also shoot the 
basketball. Add those five newcomers to the likes of Pierce and Walker, who 
are two of the top 15 scorers in the league -- and don't forget Eric 
Williams, who was one of the leading point-per-minute scorers at the SF 
position for Denver prior to suffering an ACL injury in November 1997 and now 
is physically as healthy as he's been in years -- and it's obvious that the 
team has a potent and varied offensive arsenal. 

Chris Wallace: I appreciate all of our fans who sent in questions today, and 
once again, would like to thank the Celtics faithful for the great support 
they have given the team over the years. Last season, during our playoff run, 
the spirit of the old Boston Garden was alive in the Fleet Center. And 
hopefully that type of atmosphere will be the norm during this season's home 
schedule.