Vescey on Obie

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

My very words to Bernice....

How dreadfully disappointing to see what a poor team player Jim O'Brien has
turned out to be.

Was the acquisition of Gin, er, Vin Baker appalling? Indisputably! We branded
it the NBA's worst off-season trade first day back from summer vacation . . .
unlike Boston's media that only began to ask tough questions months later and
now suddenly are wondering why Paul Westphal and Chris Ford were never
consulted.

I've also got a question; what took you bozos so long? Moreover, why not ask
Ford, who coached Baker in Milwaukee? Vin averaged 19.2 points in his first
year in helping the Sonics win the Pacific Division title and making the
All-Star team under George Karl.

Petty details aside, considering the $56 million, four-year obligation they
were incurring, shouldn't the Celtics have delved more deeply into Baker's
well-known emotional instability and alleged substance dependency? Hey, who
says they didn't know the risks they were taking?

Keep in mind, GM Chris Wallace was prohibited by then owner Paul Gaston from
re-signing Rodney Rogers for more than the $1.3M veteran minimum; the Nets
inked him to $9.2M, 3-year deal. At the same time, having lost to the Nets in
the East final, O'Brien was desperate for an inside offensive presence, as
well as someone tougher at the point than Kenny Anderson to compete with Jason
Kidd.

As a result, O'Brien, after at least two interviews with Baker, signed off the
trade for the overweight, overwrought fragile forward and Shammond Williams
for Anderson, unused rookie Joe Forte (a Red Auerbach-imposed selection,
whereas Wallace wanted to draft Tony Parker!!!) and retread Vitaly Potapenko .
. . owed a conveniently overlooked (by everyone but the Sonics) $22M over
three.

For whatever reason - bad publicity, negative feedback from father-in-law Jack
Ramsay and top assistant Dick Harter, or simply seeing for himself how much
Baker's skills had eroded though his health habits and condition sure seemed
to improve - O'Brien has distanced himself from being a co-conspirator
(leaving Wallace out there to fry by his lonesome) in the trade ever since.

Is it any wonder Baker has reverted to booze when his own coach has given him
so little love? In which Hindu life does O'Brien plan to help him?