Re: My thoughts on the Toine trade

["ryan nelson" <ryanmnelson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

maybe the brain doctor loves the shape of raef's cranium



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 1:04 PM
Subject: My thoughts on the Toine trade


> Like everyone, I have a lot of thoughts on the trade. I'll try to organize
> them and not be too long, but this is a biggie. Here we go:
>
> 1. I think it was obvious that Antoine (and Obie) wasn't buying into
> Ainge's vision for the team. The quotes last week just drove the point
home.
> But even watching the preseason games, you still saw too many halfcourt
sets
> that began with Banks/James passing to Antoine at the three-point line
then
> drifting off to find space for a kickout jumper. Ainge saw that too, and
> wasn't going to tolerate it. Also - Delk went as well. I don't think
that's
> a coincidence. Ainge wasn't going to let Delk become the point guard again
> just because Banks and/or James struggled for a week. Ainge is forcing
> change.
> 2. As even the Antoine detractors (me included) had to admit, Antoine
> was the leader of the team. That entails all the good things you'd expect
> from a leader, but also some very bad things. In this case, the team
leader
> wasn't buying into change. He flat-out said it. And just as they follow
his
> lead when he's trying to rally them from 20 points down, they will follow
> his lead when he resists change. Ainge couldn't allow Antoine to lead the
> team his way when Ainge was working in a different direction. I'd say this
> was a pretty strong message to everyone that things ARE going to change.
> 3. The return... It all depends on Lafrentz. He slipped when he joined
> Dallas. His minutes went down and he wasn't asked to do as much. And more
> worrisome, he became even more of a perimeter player. If... and it's a big
> if... Lafrentz is the 15 ppg, 9 rpg, 2 bpg, 50 percent shooter that I
think
> he can be in the East, I think the Celtics get the better of the deal. The
> offense runs better, the rebounding improves, the defense improves, and
the
> team becomes much more efficient. If Welsch is Brent Barry or Manu
Ginobli,
> even better. Still, it depends on Lafrentz. I think he could be a major
> impact player in the East, but it's up to him. He has to want it, and he
> didn't look like a player who really wanted it in Dallas. We'll see. I
wish
> we had a banger ready to play alongside him. But a guy who puts up the
above
> numbers while fitting into an offense and only taking about 10 shots is,
in
> my mind, much more valuable than a guy who puts up 20 ppg, 8 rpg and
shoots
> 36 percent while taking 20 shots. Those 10 extra shots will go somewhere,
> and you have to think they'll be converted more efficiently than 36
percent.
> Someone mentioned losing assists... I think eventually assists will go up.
> That's because the team is going to have to change its offense completely.
> There will be more passing and creating shots for others. There has to be.
> Team assists will go up, even without Antoine's 4 apg.
> 4. The contract... If it weren't for this, I'd call it a great trade.
> But Lafrentz does have a bad contract. If he settles into 10 ppg, 6 rpg
(and
> I think that's worst-case; the only way that happens is if obstinate Obie
> parks him on the bench in favor of Battie and Blount), then the trade is a
> financial disaster. But, like I said, I think that's unlikely. I think if
he
> plays the way I expect, he'll earn his money.
>
> The bottom line is I think this will hurt the team this season but help it
> get closer to a championship. It wasn't going to happen with Antoine. Not
> with his "everybody who comes in has to adjust to me and Paul" attitude.
> That approach wasn't going to win a championship. I think Lafrentz and
> Pierce are two guys who could be on a championship roster. I think a
> Pierce-Lafrentz-Perkins front line could be dynamite in three years. The
> guys this really puts a ton of pressure on are Banks, James and Obie. It
> will be up to the first two to lead the team now. Antoine isn't the
security
> blanket anymore. And Obie will have to allow them to do just that. That
> means actually putting in a point guard-initiated offense. Can he do it?
> I've seen no evidence of it. That's one reason I say they could regress
this
> season.
>
> Anyway, it looks like we're ditching the Kentucky system and trying the
> Kansas system. Is there any way we can trade Obie for Roy Williams?
>
> There's more I want to say, but this is long. We have to give this one
time.
> Because of the timing of it, the team is sure to struggle. Obie counted on
> Antoine to do a lot (too much), so almost everything is going to have to
> change. This is one step in building a championship team. Hopefully, the
> point guard (Banks), swingman (Pierce), power forward (Lafrentz) and
center
> (Perkins) of a future championship team are on this roster. We'll know in
a
> few years.
>
> Finally, it will be interesting to watch Antoine in Dallas. The Mavs could
> take the chance on him because if he doesn't buy in, they have plenty of
> guys they can play ahead of him. The Celtics never had that luxury. But,
if
> Antoine doesn't adjust his game to Nelson's liking, Antoine will be on the
> bench. If he does adjust and become the point forward we all thought he
> could be, then the Mavs get a great weapon. We'll see. It's up to Antoine.
> In a lot of ways, it's like Nick Van Exel when he went to Dallas. He had a
> lot of the same labels as Antoine, but he adapted to the Mavs' system and
> became an important contributor. Maybe Antoine will do the same thing.
>
> Mark