Holley Says Reach Out For The Messiah

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OPINION
Sale greenlighted

Record $360 million offer for Celtics too good for Gaston to pass up

By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist, 9/28/2002

Let's begin with the professional courtesies. The Celtics have a new
ownership group, and the trio should be congratulated for coming up
with the richest team proposal in NBA history. These guys paid $360
million for one of pro basketball's best brand names, and they didn't
have to scrape any penny jars to find the cash.

So to Irving and Wycliffe Grousbeck and Stephen Pagliuca: Welcome to
the world of Boston ownership. When you have a moment we'll have dinner
and bill it to our friends at the New York Times.

The new Green bosses are from the area, and they said yesterday that
they have been Celtics fans for life. Since that is the case, they
probably realize that two more things need to be done before they can
exhale and become truly comfortable. They have to make one more
purchase. And they have to make one more phone call.

A trip to an art supplies store should take care of the purchase. The
phone call is even simpler. Just find the cellphone number for a man
named Larry from French Lick, Ind., and convince him that he needs to
be part of the management team.

At the supply store, the owners can buy a paper cutter. Then they need
to gather all of Paul Gaston's files, suggestions, and memos, and turn
them into tiny blocks of scrap paper.

If the new guys are indeed Celtics fans, they know that Gaston was the
worst of Boston's pro sports owners. The bashing of Jeremy Jacobs has
become institutionalized, but Gaston made Jacobs look like the
free-spending Mark Cuban. (I hear your skepticism, Bruins fans. But
I'll assure you this: If Gaston and Jacobs were matched up in a
worst-of-Boston series, Gaston would win the thing in an
easier-than-it-looked six games.)

Irv, Wyc, and Steve will have a successful run here if they follow a
simple formula. Look at what the old boss did and do the opposite.

Part of Gaston's problem was that he often seemed miserable as the
Celtics' shepherd. We always talk about pro athletes playing solely for
the paycheck, but Gaston was the same way. It was obvious he didn't
enjoy the games. When the subject was his team and his players, he was
as exciting as Barry Manilow. As the years went by, it was more and
more difficult to find him sitting in his FleetCenter seat. Yeah,
meddling owners are annoying, but absentee owners are worse.

It wasn't an accident that the team's worst years came under Gaston's
''leadership.'' He fired good employees. He allowed Rick Pitino to take
Red Auerbach's title. After M.L. Carr was reassigned and Pitino
resigned, he gradually ceded day-to-day power to Richard Pond. Pond
helped Gaston make a lot of money with the sale of Channel 25, but his
impact on Celtics culture is - at best - questionable.

The recent Celtics were known as a cheap team, through and through.
Some organizations are focused on championships. Under Gaston and Pond,
the Celtics were focused on the location of every dime and every
quarter.

Get that paper cutter, Irv. You too, Wyc and Steve. Put a pile of
documents under the blade. Whoosh. It's that easy. You also should
consider a bonfire to rid yourselves of Gaston's vanities.

Being cheap was bad enough, but Gaston was a cheap owner who played
keepaway with a Boston legend. His pettiness with Larry Bird ran so
deep that he refused to sell the team to any Bird-affiliated group.
Bird, correctly, criticized Gaston's ownership reign and the owner
couldn't handle it. Bird's group offered Gaston between $350 and $360
million for the team and was rejected.

If the team's new ruling family reaches out to Bird, it will guarantee
itself a lifetime of good will. People in Boston may nitpick Nomar
Garciaparra, lose all patience with Manny Ramirez, and dissect the game
of Antoine Walker, but no one is going to rip Larry Bird.

Bird has already proven that he can coach in the league. He would be a
good executive because he knows how to listen and knows how to
recognize talent. He also understands the psyche of the Boston sports
fan. So, for example, he wouldn't be ducking a luxury tax when he knew
that the organization had millions of dollars in the kitty. His
presence might make members of the basketball operations staff nervous,
but they should be nervous anyway; a new boss is always examining jobs
and the people who hold them.

It rained yesterday in Boston, but it was one of the most pleasant
rainy days of the year. Early in the day, rumors of a sale began to
circulate. They were confirmed after noon. And at 3 o'clock, Gaston
removed a roadblock - himself - and turned the team over to three men
who can quickly be embraced here.

The Celtics are a paper cutter and a phone call away from being one of
the best-run franchises in the NBA. As for Gaston, he didn't even know
how to exit with style. He avoided the luxury tax, he left the Celtics
without a point guard, and, as usual, he took his money and went home.

Michael Holley is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is
holley@g...

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 9/28/2002.
) Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.