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

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

Josh, we don't know, but we're not seeing practice. I have to think if
Kendrick was ready, he'd be playing. With Hunter, it feels like a
philosophical thing. They clearly like the quickness and shooting of
McCarty at the PF spot as opposed to a wide-bodied rebounder. With
Hunter, we've seen enough, I believe, to know that he can hold his own.
But we still don't know.



The difference is history. There are precious few 18-year-olds who have
been able to play well in their rookie seasons. It just doesn't happen
often. And big men take longer than guards. So years and years of
history are stacked against Kendrick. Still, if you believe the season
is lost anyway, there's something to be said for force-feeding him
minutes. I don't believe the season is completely lost yet. On Hunter,
you're talking about a four-year college player. Those guys have a
history of contributing right away, even if their contributions level
off quickly.



Mark





-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:43 AM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics list
Subject: Re: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend,Next Celtics Coach,Attack
Of TheNY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades



Mark, I still don't see how we know Kendrick isn't ready.

Says who?  He can't get backup minutes behind Mark Blount?

How now ready is he?  And why?  All players should get a chance,

whatever their age.  Darryl Dawkins was a big help to the sixers

as a rookie.  Ditto Moses Malone in Portland.  Not that Kendrick

is as good, but...they should play him as much as he deserves.  How

can you "make sure he can hold his own" without playing him?

What is he, anyway?  eight years old?



Josh



----- Original Message -----

From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

To: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx>; "celtics list"
<celtics@xxxxxxxx>

Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:34 AM

Subject: RE: News Synopsis: Mills Cap Godsend,Next Celtics Coach,Attack
Of

The NY Trades, Best Player, Ainge Trades





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