Re: Vin-sanity of a different sort

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

> ---------- Initial message -----------
> 
If Kenny's salary came off the books at the end of the 
year that would leave roughly $9mil that could be spent 
on salary cap exceptions > (you can spend quite a bit on 
these now, what is it up to 4.5 mil per year
> or more?) 
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It isn't the entire 9 million. I wish it were. We'd have 
to subtract Vitaly's 5.7 million and Forte's 1.08 million 
from that.

(BTW, I've read that the veteran's exception will be 5 
million, although maybe others can confirm that for you)

As for luxury tax, Kenny clearing the cap this summer 
(Vitaly still on board) would have left a projected 
payroll around 47 million. 

There are two linked issues with that:

One, if Boston re-signed Kenny at a discount (or a 
replacement FA starting point guard), plus FA's Walt and 
Bremer, plus two first round draft picks, we'd be close 
to where we are now with Vin on board. 

Two, if Boston or anyone ELSE wants to outbid the five 
million dollars that other teams can automatically offer 
top FAs through the veteran's exception (regardless of 
team payroll), they need to be not just at the salary cap 
but more than 5 million under it (maybe 34 million 
payroll at most). Strictly speaking, this would have been 
unrealistic even before the ill-fated Vin Baker trade.
 
What surprises me is the latest spin on list about how 
I'm now "defending" the Baker trade.

A week before the trade even happened, back when it was 
chat room fodder, I was the guy that was weeping and 
wailing about how terrible it was, how implausible it 
was, how stupid it would be for the GM to do this. I made 
the very same arguments I read now (but maybe said 
better) :-) and louder than anyone else.

But now there's no gain in it. Have you heard me whine 
about the trade months after the fact? 

My father told me once, in my impressionable youth, that 
any time I spend thinking about mistakes of the past is a 
negative use of my time. "What ifs" should be posed 
regarding the future, not in reference to the (never 
perfect)past.

Yeah, how "deep" I know, but he's an impressive guy. ;-) 
The best advice I've ever come up with so far with my own 
son, Koji, is "boys don't whine". To me, that gets at 
least the gist of my father's advice, as to how boys 
should approach challenges in life.

The Vin Baker fiasco is a crippling situation (and was a 
terrible trade idea) but its NOT the end of the world. 

I'd rather point out where the trade now puts Boston in 
numbers, particularly if it means a choice between doing 
that or just whining. Part of moving on means firing the 
GM and identifying a superior replacement. 

To those who say the new owners seem too "naive" to fire 
the GM, imagine if you were the guy actually signing pay 
checks in excess of one million dollars per month to Vin 
Baker, knowing you'll be doing the same thing every month 
into 2006? Enough said.

But at the same time, Boston's relative cap position 
hasn't changed that much. Moreover, Boston's relative 
payroll may still be below that which a defending "Final 
Four" team could justify spending (18th overall). And the 
Celtics still have 5 to 7 million to spend on a new 
player. 

As crippling as the Baker trade was, its up to the owners 
whether we spend the entitled exception or not. The 
organization and its fans just have to move on. 

I'm quietly moving on too. I read one "argument" in 
particular that seemed to me so deliberately dishonest 
and irrational, it made me for the first time sick of 
this list and some people on it. I prefer to be a 
solitary fan, or participate in other lists.





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