Re: Ain't gonna allow anyone to fool around with ME and Paul

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
A lot of the local media felt (and still feel) the same.  Obie is a survivor, 
no matter how poor we consider his coaching skills. Here is the dilemma - 
if our team has so little talent, and our coach is as bad as I think he is, 
then how come we have made the playoffs two years in a row?  My own 
rationale is that if we dropped Pierce from our roster we would likely 
have been looking at a string of 35-47 seasons. Same with McGrady in 
Orlando, Iverson in Philly, and Carter in Toronto. 
--- end of quote ---

 I think we've been over this before. Obie took over a mutinous team from
Pitino, got them on his side by offering major concessions to its leaders in
return for their promise to play defense - what I call Obie's "Faustian
Bargain".  Defense + a superstar in Pierce + a talented if screwed up sidekick
in Walker = 40+ wins and playoffs in the EC. Like I've said before,Obie's very
good at understanding the dynamics of his team, which is why he's a survivor,
not NBA roadkill like Pitino.  In that sense, he's a successful coach. But his
Faustian bargain will never allow him to do better than that, because he
doesn't control his team, and because the guys who do control it  don't want to
play the right way. The only way he could do better is if he were given a team
like the '86 Celtics  - great players who play the game the right way - and let
them do their thing. He could probably "coach" Duncan, Garnett and Kidd to a
championship. But so could anyone else who was smart enough to stay out of the
way. 
 
But because of his deal with the boyz and probably because of the way he is, he
can't change the style of play, he can't develop any players that don't fit or
don't want to fit "into ME and Paul", and that's why he's the wrong coach for
this team. I just hope that the ownership gets tired of the same old crap soon,
and allows Ainge to do what he needs to do. 

--- You wrote:
FINAL THOUGHTS - Ainge deferred to Pag on the Obie signing, to Wallace
on our draft picks, and to Obie on the McCarty/Blount signings.  Until 
timid innocence blossoms into extreme license, nothing much will change.  
Ainge has shown us neither the clout nor the NBA connections that we
assumed he might have, and is neither as personable nor as up front as 
we hoped he might be. Show me a con man and I will show you a thief.  
Ainge will always be beholden to Pagliuca; it is the foundation of their 
relationship. 
--- end of quote ---

But isn't that the relationship of pretty much any GM to his ownership? I mean,
Pagliuca IS his boss. Maybe Bird and a couple of others have the stature to
tilt this power relationship their way somewhat , but the rest are at best
given a longer leash to do what they want to do. Even MJ got called on the
carpet and unceremoniously fired. Besides, it's not like we did so well with
the last guy who had near-absolute power in the organization.  But at least
Pagliuca realizes that building a team around Toine's "skillset" is a disaster.
Unfortunately, the GMs around the league recognize the same thing. 
Kestas