From: Sean Giovanello <sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: Steve Ouellette <bosox18@xxxxxxxxxxx> CC: Celtics <Celtics@xxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: Unacceptable rebuilding? Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 13:29:10 -0500
I think people bought the tank for Duncan idea. It made sense cause the team was just so bad and, at the time, it seemed the smart and logical way to rebuild. No Duncan and too much Pitino left people perhaps even more down on this team than during the ML Carr era. Attendance was down. I would imagine luxury and season tix were way down. Getting rid of Pitino and turning the team over to Walker/Pierce/OB brought us back to respectability. It certainly was not the last stop on the journey back to the top but for a while it felt like we wereh eaded in the right direction. Going back to 3 years of lottery will really hurt this team. It will kill the new owners who depend so much on a packed house every night.
Steve Ouellette wrote:
I just dont think a team like the Celts can take 3 years or more to implement a program.
I keep hearing this from different people, that you can't rebuild in Boston, it won't be tolerated.
Celtic wins, from the 1993-94 season through 2000-2001: 32, 35, 33, 15, 36, 19 (short season), 35, 36.
That's eight consecutive losing seasons. Now, because we made the Eastern Conference playoffs two years in a row, we can no longer tolerate anything less? The world will end, the Fleet Center will sink into the ground and the team will disband?
Personally, I won't tolerate any more steps that don't seem designed to give us another championship. I think Ainge is doing fine ... every person I've met who has been critical seems to think that it was simply insane to give up a chance for 46 wins and a 10 percent shot at reaching the finals and being swept. Somehow the ultimate goal has been corrupted.
STEVE O