RE: Me and Paul... Stockton and Malone, Blanchard and Davis

["Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Does anyone recall during Ainge's press conference when he said "don't look for me to tell you who I am drafting because that is sacred information"?  Please don't expect him to leak information about his "real" plans for this team, for that is probably sacred to him also.

I have been reading all the "trade-Toine" posts with interest, hoping that no representatives from other teams are on this list cuz he wouldn't fetch a used towel according to some of you.  Unless a real upgrade is possible through a trade, and I do NOT consider Shareef an upgrade, the devil you know may be the best option.  

We lost to a better team in double OT without Walker and Battie.  We played them tough in their building as well.  I thought our real weakness, especially early on in the series, was that our defensive rotation was so painfully slow in leaving their shooters open for good looks at the basket.  When the defense tightened up, the results were much better for us.

You've given up on Toine.  Paul shoots 7/24 and you still haven't given up on him yet?

Would anyone trade Paul for Kobe straight up?

Cecil  

-----Original Message-----
From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
Sent: May 15, 2003 11:49 AM
To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject: Re: Me and Paul... Stockton and Malone, Blanchard and Davis


Kestas, you're depressing me. Here I am trying to stay positive in the face
of these "announcements" and you're bringing me down.

I just refuse to believe that Ainge thinks things can change just by wanting
them to change. We know he hates the style of play. We know he doesn't
believe in Antoine. We know the things he said yesterday are the same things
Wallace would have said, and he definitely wasn't brought in to maintain the
status quo. We know this stuff. But what advantage would he gain by saying
them? I think the fact that he didn't say "I will not trade Antoine Walker"
says more than what he actually did say. No, Antoine remains in play for a
trade, but Ainge is trying to avoid the implication that he's available for
a bag of sweat socks.

Ainge is smart enough to see the Antoine-Obie dynamic. He knows they can't
continue to be together, because if they are, nothing changes. He'll give
Obie a chance with a different roster and without Antoine. If he still
insists on the same style, he's gone after next season. Do I wish it was
sooner? Absolutely. But the only offseason outcome I won't be able to accept
is a return of both Obie and Antoine. If that happens, well... I don't even
want to think about it.

Mark