RE: SonicsCentral.com Brent Barry Scouting Report

["R. Singh" <keltsfan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark,

Yes, I've seen a lot of Barry. 

In any event, he is a guy that leaves me shaking my head in frustration.
He is very, very gifted on the offensive end and does understand the
game like Jiri Welsch while bringing more athleticism to the court but
he just doesn't have the drive or passion to excel and is not one to
bring it every night. In the vernacular of former coach Rick Pitino, he
is not a Ph'd (poor, hungry and driven) Does that mean, he can't be
successful in Boston? Not at all, he just isn't worth a first round pick
or Mark Blount for that matter. 

With respect to leadership, I can only say the Sonics have no
on-court/off-court leadership.  They have no one to take charge of the
team and dictate a way of going about business. This is why McMillan is
so frustrated with the team. Earlier this season, he blew up in the
locker room, criticizing management for building a team full of soft
players. Pretty much incriminated every veteran on the team except for
Potapenko and Antonio Daniels. McMillan wants tough minded players that
bring intensity every time they step on the court, something Barry does
not do. 

In a nutshell, he deals with Barry this way.  If he comes out with fire
and, for whatever reason, is motivated, McMillan will play him a lot
during a game. If he comes out with the passivity that leaves me shaking
my head and the coach thinking about taking the Charlotte head coaching
position, he sits him for the energetic and always motivated Daniels.
Barry's inconsistent minutes reflect this.  All you gotta do is ask
yourself, if he is the on-court leader, why is it that his minutes are
so inconsistent, especially given that fact the coach is so desperate
for leadership from someone on his team?

Barry is a nice complimentary player and is a much better fit for the
Celtics than James given what Ainge has in mind offensively. But giving
up a first round pick or Mark Blount, who in my estimation has become a
decent big man and would do well in an honest to goodness running game,
would be a big mistake given the other issues I've elaborated on. It's
all a matter of buying at a discount and if any deal included either of
these Celtics assets, the Sonics would be the ones buying at a discount.


The one concern I have about Ainge is his predisposition towards
building a soft team. His Suns teams always struck me as soft and I fear
that may be the eventual outcome in Boston. I hope not because it takes
metal to win championships. 

Ravi



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Berry, Mark S
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 9:53 AM
To: celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: SonicsCentral.com Brent Barry Scouting Report


Ravi, thanks for your thoughts on Brent Barry. You've obviously seen
more of him than I have.



The thing that surprises me the most is that he's not a leader. I
thought he had become the floor leader for that team, especially since
the Payton trade. In fact, I thought he was one of the reasons they felt
comfortable making the Payton trade (not THE reason, of course)... the
fact that even last season, Barry was starting to become the floor
leader for the Sonics.



If he's not a leader out there, then the trade might not work out. I'm
convinced the Celts would make a significant leap forward with a floor
general out there who could take the ball out of Pierce's hands. I was
hoping Barry could be that guy. Even if he's not, he's a clear upgrade
over James, isn't he?



Anyway, Barry is one of those guys I like to watch play. Is he perfect?
Obviously, he isn't. But look around the league. See how many good
veteran point guards are out there and available. The list isn't just
short - I'm not sure there is a list. Barry and Van Exel may be it.



As it is, I've been advocating more minutes for Jiri at PG, and Barry
brings a lot of what Jiri brings, only with more experience at the
position and more athleticism (although not as much defense). I'm still
in favor of going after him, although my expectations for him will be
tempered by some of these scouting reports.



Thanks again, Ravi.



Mark



--- --- ---



Ravi wrote:



Barry is one of the best open floor players and he is an exceptional
passer so I can see Ainge's fascination with him especially given the
braintrust's desire to put in place offensively gifted players that can
score in explosive fashion.  Barry would facilitate an excellent fast
break assuming the Celtics address their rebounding deficiencies as well
as reign in Paul Pierce's overcontrol of the ball.

In the half court, with a proper motion based offense, Barry would excel
as he does move well without the ball and as stated before he is an
exceptional passer.  He is not able to take his defender off the dribble
and thus is unable to create shots for himself but again, with enough
motion, or solid penetration by a teammate and kick out, he will knock
down open looks. Put a guy in his face and he won't give you any
scoring. However, a team that has a Pierce and Davis on the floor would
make it very difficult to put a defender in Barry's face.

He is not a leader.  He does defer to more aggressive teammates.  His
game became much more passive when Ray Allen returned from injury and
consequently his performance and minutes have dropped.  He is perfectly
fine distributing the ball to guys that want it. That can both be a good
thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that, as Mark pointed out, he
is unselfish, bad in the sense that Paul Pierce really really wants the
ball in his hands...all the time.





Mark