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

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

Josh,

On Kendrick ... I think he could contribute something, and would like to
see him in small increments. But you play guys that young, you're going
to lose. That's just the way it works. If your argument is the team is
losing anyway, why not play Kendrick ... then that's fine. But I don't
think they're ready to give up on the season. I think it's a stretch to
believe Kendrick is ready to be a contributor on a winning team. He may
be ready next season. It may be the season after. But if he plays big
minutes right now, it's probably a sign they're giving up on the season.
Is he better than Darko Milicic? There's plenty of time. Let's make sure
he's ready to at least hold his own.

On Pierce ... Two years ago, I would have put Pierce in the group right
behind Shaq, Duncan, Garnett (who I love) and Kobe. Now, he's a notch or
two lower. Like I said, I'd put him in there with Francis, Baron Davis,
Iverson, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephon Marbury, Dirk Nowtizki, Steve Nash,
Peja Stojakovic, Ray Allen ... They're the very good players, but below
the top four, and a tick below Kidd and T-Mac. If they traded Pierce for
any of those guys in the Francis, Davis group, I might not agree with
it, but I'd agree the value is pretty comparable. 

It's all a matter of opinion. I just think Pierce is in the middle of a
second straight "OK" season. He was just "OK" last year, when Antoine
was there, so I don't buy the argument that he's struggling without
Antoine. Maybe this is what he is. If so, that's still pretty good. But
it's not GREAT. 

Mark 


-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:05 AM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics list
Subject: Re: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend,Next Celtics Coach,Attack
Of The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades

Mark,

two points:

1)  why is Kendrick not ready because of his calendar age?  And
how is riding the pine going to get him ready.  He looks ready to
me.  If he plays and he's bad, then you say he's not ready, and send
him to Pete Newell's camp or something.  But if he can play, he
should play.  He wouldn't be the first big man who contributed as
a hardship case.

2)  Pierce:  I thought your list was interesting, because while I agree
that Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan are clearly on another level, I don't think
I would put Garnett in Pierce's league.  For all his stat-stuffing, you
can't give KG the ball in the 4th quarter and tell him to carry the team
to a win, let alone in the playoffs.  I would say that there is a 2nd
tier
of MVP players to  which Pierce belongs:  Iverson is in there too, along
with Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, and maybe T-Mac, although he's never
proved
anything in the playoffs yet either.  Pierce needs another star, not
just a big animal in the post.  Baker actually complemented him really
well when he was sober...as did Antoine, for all his faults.  I think if
we
trade, it should be for a scoring big man, not lust another ox.

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx>; "celtics list"
<celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 10:46 AM
Subject: RE: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend, Next Celtics Coach,Attack
Of
The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades


Believe me, Josh, I'm not saying you give Pierce away. I'm not even
saying they should trade him. But I'll be watching very closely the rest
of this season, and I'm betting Ainge will be too. Pierce had a great
half-season after Pitino left, a great season after that, and has been
good-not-great for the season and a half since. He hasn't made
adjustments or added to his game. And he certainly hasn't responded well
to adversity this season. He desperately needs an impact point guard -
someone to be the leader on the floor and keep the team and Pierce
focused. Pierce too easily becomes distracted and disinterested. If he's
not going to be the leader, they need someone who will be. And that guy
needs to be the point guard.

On the big guys ... I don't consider Dampier just another guy,
especially in the East. I think he'd be a nice bridge until Kendrick is
ready. I wish that was today, but realistically it's hard to expect too
much of the kid just a few months out of high school. No one is more
excited about his potential than I am, but let's give him some time. You
turn the season over to high school kids, and you're writing off the
season altogether. And next season, too.

Hunter is different. That's a four-year college guy with an NBA body
losing minutes to Walter McCarty. I'm completely on board with playing
Hunter some serious minutes.

Anyway, let's watch this season and see what happens with Pierce. You
consider him an MVP caliber player, and I'm not so sure he is. He's not
on the Shaq-Duncan-Garnett-Kobe level. I'd argue he's a notch below
T-Mac and Jason Kidd, as well. I'd put him in a group with Steve
Francis, Baron Davis,

Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 10:17 AM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics list
Subject: Re: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend, Next Celtics Coach,Attack
Of The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades

Mark,

re Pierce:  I don't think it is that simple.  I remember you saying,
in the twilight of the Pitino period, that Pierce was sulky and soft,
and had quit on the coach, etc.  Afterwards, Pierce became an MVP
type player for Obie.  You don't trade a guy like that except for
another guy like that.  Period.  Pierce isn't a leader, isn't fiery like
Bird or Antoine, doesn't respond well to pressure.  We know all
that.  But we know what he is as a basketball player, and when all
is said and done, he's also a good guy.  The Celtics need to get him
an enforcer, not another big body like Erick Dampier.  Why does
everyone take it for granted that Kendrick can't play for another
three years?  He looks to me like he can play now.  Same with Hunter.
Give him the minutes, and he'll give us the rebounds and toughness
we need.  Even the point guard situation would resolve itself under
a real coach.  The only trade we need right now is John Carroll for
a pile of earth.

Josh
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <Celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 9:38 AM
Subject: Re: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend, Next Celtics Coach,
Attack Of
The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades


> 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