RE: RealGM article on Ainge statements

["John Lyell" <jlyell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't think Artest is worth Walker. Williams for Artest is reasonable, he
is not a superstar or even close.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2003 11:27 AM
To: celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: re: RealGM article on Ainge statements


Yes, Ainge could acquire Artest, if he's willing to deal Walker.
You couldn't get a pail of garbage for Williams and Delk.
Ray

> ** Original Subject: RealGM article on Ainge statements
> ** Original Sender: Celtic4Hire@xxxxxxx
> ** Original Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 19:37:51 -0700 (PDT)

> ** Original Message follows...

>
> Biggest note is Ainge is looking to make one more change for a guard. I
> believe he is looking to get rid of Delk and/or EWill to further force
Obie to
> change the offense. EWill and Delk plus the exception works for Artest.
Could
> Bird
> work a deal with his little kid brother, Danny? Wouldn't our team be
awesome
> with Banks at the point, Artest at the two, PP, a lighter Twan and Battie
with
> a revitalized Baker coming off the bench along with Kedrick,Jones, Walter
and
> Hunter? That's what I would call a team providing they could all get along
> with Artest. Then we could really find out if Obie could coach....I know,
too
> much optimism for some of you. Steady as she goes. Keep a level keel.
Don't
> walk
> under a ladder. Watch for the boogie man, etc....
>
> DJessen33
>
> <Ainge addresses state of the Celtics
>
> While most of the New England sports world is focused on the Red Sox drive
> towards their first post-season appearance in four years, and the start of
the
> beloved Patriots season, Danny Ainge took some time to discuss some of the
> current issues surrounding his team. He recently appeared on Fox Sports
Net
> New
> England and sports radio 850 WEEI.
>
>
>
> Here is a synopsis of what was discussed:
>
>
>
> On Marcus Banks:
>
>
>
> He said he is always reluctant to hype up a rookie too much because they
have
> (obviously) yet to play in a professional game, so itbs very difficult to
> gauge their importance to team success. But he is sure that Banks will
cause
> some
> problems to the team in certain games due to his lack of experience. That
is
> not a shot at him, itbs just how it is with rookies, and they want him to
be
> an important player, so he has to learn this way.
>
>
>
> On <A HREF="http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=203";>Vin
> Baker</A>:
>
>
>
> He said he doesnbt want to build his expectations too high and hopes he
can
> contribute to the team in terms of a positive attitude and character
> standpoint. He has no idea what to expect in terms of numbers. With Baker,
> itbs a daily
> thing with him because of his problem. He has not seen him all summer, but
has
> had a couple of conversations with him. He said that Vinbs attitude was
> realistic and that he (Ainge) was encouraged. Finally, he said that he is
> hopeful
> that he could be a contributor, but at the same time he has been planning
> without him. Moreover, he wouldnbt have drafted Brandon Hunter if he knew
> that
> Baker could be a valuable contributor.
>
>
>
> On <A HREF="http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=350";>Antoine
> Walker</A>:
>
>
>
> He has had no talks with him in terms of a contract extension. He feels
that
> Antoine has every incentive in the world to have the best year of his
career
> this year and he wants him to do that (obviously). From his (Aingebs)
> perspective, he doesnbt think that Walkerbs only options are a maximum
> contract
> extension, or a trade. But at the same time, he understands that Walker
and
> his
> agent would want a maximum deal. In terms of his game, he would like to
see
> his
> shot attempts be higher quality and have a higher percentage, and also
> increase
> his rebounding.
>
>
>
> He also denied that he ever hated Walker or his game, noting that he could
> understand why people would think that, given the comments he made while
> broadcasting for TNT. But he feels the biggest reason why his three point
> attempts
> were so high, and his shooting percentages so low were due to the fact
that
> they
> had no point guard and he had a lot of responsibilities in terms of
bringing
> the ball up. He also mentioned that it wasnbt just Walker whose
conditioning
> needed improvement. And hopefully, now, those issues have been resolved.
>
>
>
> On Jim ObBrien:
>
>
>
> He talks with him all the time and they are both on the same page in terms
of
> what the team needs to improve. They both want a more uptempo running
style,
> but therebs still that question at point guard. They want Banks to HAVE
to
> play in those situations and learn from them.
>
>
>
> In terms of their relationship within the organization, he views ObBrien
as
> his btop assistantb when discussing which players to go after or draft.
> But
> ultimately he makes the decision himself. (interesting that Chris Wallace
is
> never mentioned here).
>
>
>
> In the same respect, ObBrien views Ainge the same way in terms of how to
run
> the team on the court. But ultimately he makes the decisions, but they are
> both held accountable in both aspects. He also said ObBrien felt that
with
> the
> team he had, he HAD to play the style of game they did to win NOW.
>
>
>
> Ainge also said that therebs a time and place for isolation style of play
> (giving the ball to either Walker or Pierce and everyone else just waits
for
> the
> defense to react) but it canbt be the be-all, end-all. He said he
remembers
> plenty of times when they would give the ball to Larry Bird or Kevin
McHale
> and
> watch them do their thing until the defense reacted. But he just doesnbt
> want
> that to be the main focal point on the offense.
>
>
>
> On taking the job:
>
>
>
> For him, it was definitely the attraction of it being the <A
> HREF="http://celtics.realgm.com/";>Boston </A>Celtics. He
> turned down the offer once, but they persisted and asked him to really
think
> about it. He loves the challenge and says there is no place like Boston to
be
> in terms of a sports town. He said that there is no better place to win,
but
> itbs not a good place to be when you lose. To be a part of any sports
team
> here,
> you need to be thick-skinned and have a lot of patience.
>
>
>
> That was the gist of his interview on WEEI. I saw a brief video clip on
FSNE
> last night and he told Tommy Heinsohn that he would like to make one more
> trade before the year for another guard. He didnbt mention any names, so
> make of
> it what you will.>

>** --------- End Original Message ----------- **