Michael Gee Says Don't Bring Back Bird

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gee doing the Steve Buckley "let's go against the grain" role here is
insane,
because Bird's talent evaluation ability would help the franchise combat
the Jason
Kidd's of the world.

As far as the Wallace/Papile/O'Brien trio goes, they've had one year of
muted
success in a crappy Eastern Conference. They lucked into Pierce, Walker
wasn't
their pick, the NBA rule changes greatly benefitted them, and
Dick Harter (the best coach on the staff) came aboard.


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Bird return wouldn't fly: Adding No. 33 to mix likely to cloud picture

by Michael Gee
Monday, September 30, 2002

Ancestor worship has always been the curse of the Celtics.


It's probably an unavoidable byproduct of all the championship banners,
but Bostonians firmly believe that whatever ails the Celts can be cured
by a trip into the past. A famous name of yesterday is always the
solution for today's problems.

By their own admission, the new owners of the Celtics are fans. So it's
no surprise they're thinking about bringing Larry Bird back to run their
franchise.

If the firm of Grousbeck, Grousbeck & Pagliuca bring in Steven Belkin as
a new partner, and Belkin in turn brings in Bird to be the club's
director of basketball operations, it'll be a truly sweet deal - for
Bird. Whether or not it's the right move for the Celts is a very open
question.

First of all, what does this proposal say about the new owners in their
own field of finance? These guys are supposed to be ultrarich. Yet less
than 48 hours after paying a ludicrous $360 million for the Celtics,
they're looking for new investors. Shouldn't these guys have done that
before they bought the team? It's hard to feel good about moguls who
begin their tenure with apparent cash-flow issues.

But if the new chaps accept Belkin's proposal, the real question
concerns their basketball judgment. Has the glamorous lure of Bird's
legend kept them from seeing the Celtics as they really are?

It's hard to think of a person who's as much one with his sport as Bird.
Any basketball operation, be it an NBA team or a church league peewee
squad, could use his advice and counsel. But Bird isn't interested in a
consultant's role. He'll only come back if he's the boss, a boss who's a
partner, too.

Maybe back at the end of the M.L. Carr era, Bird was a logical choice to
direct the Celts' fortunes. Former owner Paul Gaston chose a different
legend, Rick Pitino. The Celtics are only now emerging from the wreckage
of that debacle.

That's the point. The Celts aren't a wreck anymore. They reached the
Eastern Conference finals last season. The C's will begin the season
expecting success, and with a reasonable hope of reaching the NBA
Finals.

After the team's best season in 14 years, why change anything, let alone
bring in a new chief operating officer, no matter how distinguished his
resume?

All institutions are capable of improvement. Let's examine the mistakes
made by the current Celtics management troika of GM Chris Wallace,
personnel director Leo Papile and coach Jim O'Brien. It won't take long.
There aren't any worth looking at.

The Vin Baker trade may turn into a spectacular bust. That won't be
Wallace's fault. Gaston forced that deal by his penurious unwillingness
to pay the NBA luxury tax. Wallace made the best deal he could in that
circumstance.

O'Brien lets his team take the 3-point shot too often for my taste, but
he's obviously a talented coach. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker were on
their way to professional oblivion under Pitino. Under O'Brien, they're
All-Stars. In a diluted, overexpanded league, NBA coaching boils down to
keeping your top players performing at close to their top level. This
O'Brien can do.

The Celtics' problem last season was that they were mentally and
physically unprepared to survive the playoff grind. That was solely a
function of inexperience. Presumably, they'll be better prepared this
season.

Wallace, Papile and O'Brien deserve to be rewarded for how they've used
their authority, not have it taken away. Unless Bird has a starting
point guard hidden in his garage, it's difficult to see how he'd improve
on what the current bosses have done.

But the new owners evidently need money, and bringing Bird back would be
an easy way to obtain Belkin's fresh capital. Or, if not Belkin, some
other rich guys. Any of them would be happy to bring Larry as part of
their dowry.

Good luck to Larry, then. Even a legend will find it tough to stop Jason
Kidd from a Section 1 loge seat.