Tidbits from Sean Deveney

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here are a few blurbs from Deveney's CBS Sportsline column. Hmm. The Kings,
Mavs, Spurs and Pistons are the teams most involved in scouting Europe. What
do they all have in common? 

The Antoine crack is pretty much the consensus, it seems. I don't buy it. I
think there are teams out there that believe they can "fix" Antoine. I hope
one of them gets a chance to try (assuming the deal coming back is good for
the C's). Paul M., welcome back, and feel free to savage this post
unmercifully.

Also, I read somewhere else that Obie was on WEEI today and said he and
Ainge were on the same page in regard to the offense. Sure they are. Then
again, who knows? Maybe Dr. Jack's remarks about point guards are accurate.
Maybe Obie learned something this season. But don't forget he went on and on
before the season started about how much better he thought they'd be with
Delk and Shammond Williams at PG because of their improved defense and
shooting. Obie made it clear from the start that he wasn't wild about Vin
Baker, but he was very positive about the "we don't need a point guard"
theory. So, I might be convinced that he learned a lesson this season, but I
won't forget that he was the one discounting the need for a point guard in
the first place. Anyway, I'm with Obie in saying they need someone better
than Travis Best or Kenny Anderson. Those guys aren't solutions. I don't
know what the solution is, but they're not it.

Mark


Sure, just about every team has sent front-office personnel to Europe for a
look at the major tournaments, and it might seem the entire league has gone
international. Not quite. Conversations with three agents and two general
managers put the number of teams that are really in Europe -- and "in" means
they have scouts there who work from the inside, watch practices and know
players, rather than merely watch major tournaments -- at four. 
The Kings and Mavericks still are the heavies in Europe, but the Spurs and
Pistons are just behind. The Jazz has a presence, and the Nuggets and Knicks
are expanding their European operations. Everyone else? "They basically
steal information from the teams that are over there," one agent says. . . .

... .... ...
New Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the Boston
Globe last week that an extension for coach Jim O'Brien was his top priority
and that he had no intention of trading PF Antoine Walker. Both were
no-brainers, though. O'Brien has led a team with limited talent and no depth
to 93 wins in two years. Walker shot 39 percent this season and has a
maximum-salary contract -- no one would trade for him, anyway. . . . 
... ... ...
The consensus is that though Texas high school star C Kendrick Perkins
declared for the draft, he won't hire an agent and will wind up going to
college (he has a commitment to Memphis). SF Charlie Villanueva, though,
probably will go in the low first round and won't play in college.