I dodged a bullet

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@xxxxxxxxx>]

This morning I was about to post that I really
appreciated Baker's comments about "this is Coach
O'Brien's team," that it was heartening that the guy
was at least being a professional. Then word broke
that he hadn't shown up at the practice where he was
supposed to clear the air with teammates. What must
the players be thinking? Somebody (think it was Ray)
was right: this isn't something that gets fixed in two
weeks. The C's have to make official what Obie has
unofficially done already: suspend the guy for the
rest of the year, or at least a major chunk of it. Not
to be cruel to Vin, but so that the team can get on
with their lives and not lose focus wondering if the
guy's going to play or not. 

I really do have to agree that this is the C's worst
trade in memory. This settles the old Joe Barry Carrol
score. Not because the Celtics gave up all that much
for Baker, if you think of it - Kenny, Rogers & Vitaly
were useful cogs but aren't exactly setting the league
on fire - but because Wallace has saddled the team
with a huge salary anchor.

If Bill Simmons is right about the Croshere deal (and
who knows if he is?), it makes me wanna gnash my
teeth. Croshere doesn't cost much less than Vin and
has been putting up equivalent numbers this year, but
you at least get the sense that Croshere works hard.
If we were going to get saddled with a stiff and a bad
contract, give us a good soldier with younger legs.
Considering that Pitino, in what I can only assume was
a drug-induced haze, almost traded Antoine Walker for
Croshere a couple years ago, I can't believe Wallace
didn't pull the trigger. Then again, I guess there
were reasons to believe Baker offered more offensively
than Croshere and might return to form in New England
- or even put up the  decent numbers he posted last
year.

Oy vey.
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