Re: Celtics Talking Trade For Battier?

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> http://www.basketball.com/cgi-bin/posters/printPost.cgi?category=fprightfeature3&at=nba1.shtml
> 
> 5-Player deal in the works 
> 
> Ring, ring, ring, that's all Jerry West has been hearing 
> lately. Teams are apparently phoning for guard/forward Shane 
> Battier. In order for Battier to leave the team, they want size 
> and somewhat youth back. Danny Ainge, Celtic's new GM, has been 
> eyeing Shane Battier. 
> West has been entertained by offers, but seems like the 
> Celtic one makes the most sense and West feels it's a good move 
> for the Grizzlies franchise. The deal would package Kedrick Brown, 
> who has unlimited potential, with rough Eric Williams and big man 
> Tony Battie to Memphis for Shane Battier, Wesley Person and a 
> future 2nd round pick. 


Sounds like a Danny Ainge trade - giving up potential and "UPPPside" for 
basketball smarts. Battier is basically a younger, more versatile Eric 
Williams. Again, it hinges on Kedrick - if he plays like he did last 
night (at least), we're giving up too much; if it's more like he's been 
playing up to last night's game, it's a good deal. Battier has a cheap 
contract, and Wesley is both a cap throw-in and a perimeter shooter. So 
we get a temp shooter to allow Welsch more time to develop and then his 
contract conveniently expires. Financially, this deal makes a lot of 
sense, and like Ray says, would open up minutes for Perkins/Hunter, but 
it may weaken us for the short term. Kedrick may blossom with a running 
point guard like Jason Williams.

Kestas