Re: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend, Next Celtics Coach, Attack Of The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Several things to mention:



1.	The Knicks trade ... This is why I don't care about the media
criticism of Ainge. They actually seem to LIKE this trade for New York.
Look, I like Nazr Mohammed. He's a solid big guy. Not spectacular, but
solid. The contract isn't great, but it's not terrible either. He'd be a
decent pickup for anyone. BUT ... He is NOT a good pickup when he comes
attached to Tim Thomas. Tim Thomas may have the worst, most untradeable
contract left in the NBA now that Vin Baker's deal is being voided (more
on that in a minute). He has talent, but he doesn't play hard, shows up
about every fifth game and doesn't do anything that helps a team win.
Does this deal make the Knicks better? Maybe a little. Maybe not. But
are they a championship team? Are they even close? The answer,
obviously, is no. But where is their future? Thomas and Houston are
unmovable. Marbury could be traded, but he now is the face of the
franchise. Penny Hardaway's contract is ridiculous and has two more
seasons on it. Shandon Anderson is overpaid for three more seasons.
Mutombo has two more seasons. Moochie Norris' ridiculous deal has three
more seasons. Kurt Thomas is their best frontcourt player and he's a
free agent after the season. There are no young, tradeable assets left
unless you count Mike Sweetney. This roster is a mess, and I don't see
any way out. Isiah has guaranteed them Eastern Conference mediocrity for
years to come. On the other hand, I really like this deal for Milwaukee.
They not only dump one of the league's worst contracts, they add a
better player with a much better contract. I think Van Horn is a nice
fit there. Great deal for the Bucks.



2.	Paul Westphal ... OK, I know I reneged on my "Westphal for
coach" push when I looked into his Seattle days, but do I get any credit
at all if Jersey Red's prediction comes true? Just a little?



3.	The Mills contract ... The story from the Contra Costa Times is
interesting in that it came from the Contra Costa Times. That's a Bay
Area paper covering the Warriors. The Celtics are after Eric Dampier.
You wonder if there's a connection there.



4.	Vin Baker ... Granted, I'm no lawyer, but this union grievance
that's forthcoming just baffles me. It was my understanding that the
union signed off on the agreement between Baker and the Celtics. Isn't
that right? The original agreement didn't pass muster with the union, so
they hammered out one that was acceptable to the union. So, when Baker
fails miserably under the terms of this agreement, and the Celtics
exercise their rights under the terms of that agreement, what grounds
does the union have for a grievance? Do we have any contract lawyers on
the list? Can someone explain this to me. I MIGHT be able to understand
if the agreement was unfairly punitive, but this one was exceedingly
forgiving. It took FOUR indiscretions by Baker to trigger this final
move. I just don't get it. Seems like a slam dunk to me. Of course, I'm
always wrong about this legal stuff.



5.	Paul Pierce ... Forget everything else around this team. Forget
Ainge and trades and Ricky Davis and Vin Baker and the rookies. The rest
of this season has to be dedicated to finding out if Paul Pierce is the
guy to build this team around. I'm becoming less and less convinced.
He's had a pair of truly shameful performances in the past couple of
weeks - games where he basically lost/never had interest and didn't put
forth satisfactory effort. Add to this the fact that he hasn't made
necessary adjustments for a season and a half and the fact that teams
built around swingmen generally are also-rans (unless that swingman is
Michael Jordan), and you have to seriously consider the future and
Pierce's place in it. If Pierce plays like he did two seasons ago, he's
a building block. If he continues to play like he has the past season
and a half - and to lose interest like he has in the past month - he's
not. It's that simple.



Mark