Re: "as far as we can go"

["James C. McMaster (Jim)" <mcmasjc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In message <20030513220043.6904.qmail@web21408.mail.yahoo.com>, Peter 
Delevett
said:
> To those who insist trading Walker is the only way for
> the Celtics to get better, let's remember what
> happened when Philly made that same decision about
> Charles Barkley. It took them a decade to recover.
> Houston, on the other hand, resisted the urge to trade
> Hakeem Olajuwon and eventually won two championships. 
> 
You always gamble when you trade a good player.  Sometimes you get worse.  If 
you keep him, though, you can't get better.  I agree with others, this team 
has gone as far as it can, and may even be regressing.

> Not comparing Antoine to either HOFer, 

That's good, because we would all doubt your sanity.  The only way Walker 
gets to Springfield is on the bus.

> but Michael
> Jordan and Scotty Pipper whiffed a lot of times before
> they finally broke out against Detroit. 

They "broke out" because (a) Jordan and Pippen matured and (b) they got 
complementary players like Rodman and Cartwright to handle the dirty work.  I 
am not sure there are any players complementary to Walker.

> There aren't
> many teams with two All-Stars anymore. And teams that
> win titles tend to be teams that have maintained the
> same core for a number of years. 
> 
It is arguable the Celtics really have two All-Stars.  Certainly Pierce, but 
Walker is an All-Star only when he gets his head out of his butt...and that 
isn't often enough.  Most of the time he is an inefficient gunner who handles 
the ball too much.  Then he is a team-killer.

> Draft the right PG (I hope Ainge picked up on
> Phoenix's drafting smarts) and woo a top FA PF to take
> the mid-level exemption, and the C's have as good a
> chance as anybody to get back to the conference finals
> and win.

What good would either of these moves do?  Walker isn't quick enough to play 
SF, and needs his minutes at PF.  Even if cap purgatory didn't prevent the 
Celtics' signing a "top FA" anything, said FA PF would only get 5 minutes per 
game.  A rookie PG isn't going to be able to stand up to Walker without 
strong support from his Coach.  How likely is Obie to even let a rookie get 
off the bench, much less support him against Walker?
 
I think it is past time for Walker to go.  It would be nice if some of the 
trade dreams people have could come true, but I'm afraid Walker's value is a 
lot less than Celtics' fans imagine.  I am sure other teams see the same 
things we see.

The only non-trade alternative I can see for Ainge is:

1) Draft a PG that can run a real offense.
2) Tell Walker to play like a real PF or sit on the bench.
3) Tell O'Brien, on penalty of losing his job:
   a) Play the rookie
   b) Run a real offense
   c) Sit Walker if he won't play like a real PF 

Failing one of those things happening, we are in for another year like this 
one:  watching an unwatchable team that finishes around .500, ekes into the 
playoffs, and gets blown out by one of the (several) better teams in the 
conference.
-- 
Jim McMaster
mailto:mcmasjc@tatanka.stortek.com
Go Celtics!