Re: Vin Baker

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Baker needs not a shrink, but to be shrink wrapped and shipped out to
retirement.

DanF

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kestutis Kveraga" <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 11:35 AM
Subject: RE: Vin Baker


> Josh,
> have you been watching their games!? Whenever they try to pass him the
ball,
> it's a turnover, unless he's alone in front of the basket (and even then
he
> manages to get stuffed more often than not). It's gotten to the point
where he
> hides behind the defender so that they wouldn't try to pass him the ball.
His
> defense is, for the most part, a charade, which he tries to disguise by
fouling
> people needlessly to show that he's doing something.
> I remember an article by Frank Hughes sometime in the summer or early
fall. He
> wrote that Baker had mastered the art of appearing to be doing something
while
> not actually doing anything useful. In fact, judging by the Sonics' record
> without him, his presence was actively harming the team. Anyway, at the
time I
> thought the Hughes guy was yet another, particularly vicious sportswriter.
But
> now I've seen what he meant. The level of venom directed at Baker by
people who
> have observed him on the court for some time is truly incredible. You
don't
> evoke such hatred without a reason, especially if you are a nice guy off
the
> court, which Vin apparently is. People don't want to hate Vinnie the
basketball
> player, they just can't help it. Even the Celtics' "PR firm" can't remain
> silent any longer.
> As for Obie, he sees what most everybody else sees, and he's not into
rewarding
> players with PT when they don't deserve it. I mean, look at how much we
missed
> Baker last night! Tommmy and Mike, who never have a bad word to say about
a
> Celtics player, were talking very pointedly about the Celtics' new-found
> "chemistry", mentioning it at least a dozen times, especially when a play
> involved Battie. The implication was, Baker contributes the most when he
stays
> the hell away from the team.
> The Celtics need to find a shrink to diagnose Baker with incurrable
depression
> (sounds like it wouldn't be much of a stretch) and get him to retire. It's
a
> win-win-win situation. The Celtics chemistry would improve by leaps and
bounds,
> Vin would be under the radar screen of the media, getting fat on the money
he
> stole, and Wallace hopefully would get fired for sticking the owners with
a
> $50M bill.
> (If Wallace isn't fired by July, the owners are completely clueless. I
mean,
> Enron's management did a good job, compared to Wallace. Btw, May is pretty
> clear why Wallace has gotten a free ride until now. Is that why you're
> defending him too, Josh?).
> Kestas
>
>
> --- You wrote:
> Not only that, but Mark is dead wrong.  The trade was
> a mistake, but Vin Baker is a good teammate who has
> contributed in some small way to the Celtics this
> year, and deserves greater respect.  Obie is a
> frigging moron for not making an effort to make him
> more involved and confident; I would fire him before
> Wallace, because he is the primary author of what is
> going on now, which I by the way predicted months ago.
>  Give the guy the ball ten times a game, and you'll
> get 10-12 easy points, and a few turnovers.  Let him
> shoot a 12-footer facing the basket, or drive.  He can
> do all these things -- but even if he couldn't, it's a
> shame and a disgrace to treat a player the way Baker
> has been treated.  Everyone knows he's psychologically
> fragile, and they treated him like an old dog they
> wished would die.  The Baker "disaster" has been a
> self-fulfilling prophecy.
> --- end of quote ---