Tony Battie etc.

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

I missed Celtics news for a few weeks, but now with 
trepidation I think its a good time for Chris Wallace to 
try to redeem himself with a productive pickup or trade. 
I don't think he has earned enough trust to stay on here 
under the new management, much less from fans who want a 
17th banner (a hard task).

I don't want or expect CW to get reckless, but he should 
be working the phones with every team just to see what 
player is actually out there apart from the veteran 
unemployment line or, worse, the NBDL.

And FWIW, I prefer that Tony Battie scopes his knee now 
(if necessary), rather than have it linger throughout the 
year. 

In light of how important FG defense has been to our 
winning chances, Battie has been the key to Boston's 
season to date. On the other, it shouldn't matter what 
seed we are as long as we MAKE the playoffs and he's 
healthy in time. 

Boston still is one of the stronger road teams to date. 
More importantly, the sixth seeded Eastern team will 
likely finish with a record similar to the number one 
seed, so we could face a competent first round opponent 
regardless of where we finish. 

Hopefully, Battie will get the best medical advice on 
this matter rather than rely just on the team physician. 

As for an injury replacement, it seems prudent that the 
Celtics make an offer to a veteran who can step in right 
away for Tony Battie, even if the replacement can't do 
most of the same things on defense. 

But if a shotblocker is deemed absolutely necessary, the 
Celtics only option might be to check out Soumaila 
Samake, the 24-year-old from Mali that both Boston papers 
surprisingly mentioned today.

Interestingly, although our local papers list him at 6-
10, his current Greenville (NBDL) coach and Danny Ainge 
pal Tree Rollins (see below) rates him as a legitimate 7-
footer and defensive standout.

Samake has passed through both the rival Nets (drafted 
36th out of the IBL) and Lakers organizations, but has 
rarely played. He was suspended five games in November 
for steroid use, then later cut by the Lakers to clear 
room for the "other" Samaki (Walker). 

The Celtics already have dead weight developmental 
players on the bench as it is, but I imagine Samake is 
being evaluated out of due diligence by Wallace and 
Papile, given his game's (relative) similarity to 
Battie's. The feeling is that he'd be a lottery pick if 
he had attended seven more years of grad school.

If you ask me, Boston will sign Horace Grant to the rock 
bottom league minimum rather than an all-around talent 
like Danny Manning. HG won't hurt the team on defense, 
he's unselfish, and he's been a quality rebounder and 
enforcer on championship-type teams for many seasons. 

Its as boring a move as I can picture, but better than 
screwing up the roster/payroll or adding another 
developmental player. And I doubt it would be hard to 
work out a deal.

But I'd also like to see Chris Wallace do something to 
prove he isn't a possible weak link as the Celts move 
toward a 17th banner.

Anyway, here's the Samake article:

http://greenvilleonline.com/news/sports/2002/12/28/2002122
833673.htm
Groove notes: Tall tales

The first thing Groove coach Tree Rollins did when 
meeting his newest player, center Soumaila Samake, was 
stand next to him. 

"I wanted to make sure he was legitimately seven feet and 
not 6-8 or 6-9," said the 7-2 Rollins. "He's a legit 7-
footer. He's bigger than I thought." 

Samake, who was a acquired early in the week but didn't 
join the team until Friday, made his presence known 
quickly by blocking several shots of his new teammates 
during practice. 

"He was blocking shots, intimidating and forcing our guys 
to try to dunk the ball harder," Rollins said. 

Samake comes to the Groove after averaging 1.7 points and 
1.8 rebounds in 13 games with the Los Angeles Lakers. He 
was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the second round in 
2000. In 47 NBA games, he averaged 1.4 points and 1.6 
rebounds. 

Rollins signed Samake after talking to New Jersey 
executive Willis Reed and Lakers assistant Jim Clemmons. 

"That makes a world of difference for a perimeter guy 
guarding a guy on the perimeter," Groove guard Billy 
Thomas said of having Samake on the team. " You can be 
aggressive because you know you've got a force behind 
you." 

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