RE: Here's a trade to make

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

This team desperately needs a post player who "needs the ball" to
contribute. They're begging for a big man who can score in the post.
BEGGING! Remember how much Vin helped early in the season? Hunter, as
much as I'd like to see him in there for his rebounding, just isn't that
kind of player. Neither is Lafrentz, who I think will be a huge addition
next season. I also think it's a little unfair to say Howard can't
rebound. The guy has averaged 7-8 rebounds per game for his career. He's
not a rebounding monster, but he's a huge improvement over Walter. He
averages more rebounds per 48 minutes (9.4) than Rasheed Wallace or
Vlade Divac. He's not the rebounder Mihm is, but at least he can stay on
the floor.

Look, I don't think anyone -- least of all Ainge -- is saying Juwan
Howard is the missing piece. But he's a legitimate NBA power forward who
fills a need and provides a specific skill -- low-post scoring -- that
the Celtics really need. My biggest gripe with this is the contract.
That's a lot of years to be tied to a guy. But I can see why Ainge would
be interested in Howard as a player.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 10:57 AM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Here's a trade to make

I'm not torn at all.  I don't want Howard.  Another 
power forward who can't rebound, who needs the
ball 15 times a game to contribute, and who has 
been abused by every 4 from Antoine to Zach.  Keep
LaFrenz as the starting four, and PLAY HUNTER 
THIS YEAR!

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: Here's a trade to make


> I would say Taylor and Baker are different players, but not as vastly
> different as you suggest. How many of Vin's points were 15-foot
jumpers?
> Plenty. You're right that Mo Taylor takes more of those mid-range
> jumpers than Vin, but I don't think he's soft. He also has a post-up
> game. You can throw it to him with his back to the basket and he knows
> what to do with it. He's a good pick-and-roll player because he really
> knocks down that mid-range shot. He's a career 48 percent shooter who
> simply doesn't shoot three-pointers (thankfully). He averages around 5
> rpg in 28 mpg, and around 12 points (although he has averaged as much
as
> 17). He's 6-9, 255. You're right about him being injury-prone. He has
> missed a lot of games (15-20 a season) in recent years.
> 
> But it may be a moot point. ESPN Insider says Ainge's No. 1 target is
> Juwan Howard. Apparently it also mentions interest in Williamson and
> Dale Davis, but Juwan's salary, production and good attitude are
> attractive to Ainge.
> 
> I'm not a Juwan Howard fan, but I was surprised at his numbers this
> season and in recent years. He's averaging about 16 points and 7
> rebounds per game this season, on 45 percent shooting. Those numbers
> were 18 and 8 the previous two seasons. He's a career 18 and 7 guy, on
> 47 percent shooting. He's 6-9, 260. He has been durable. 
> 
> Howard definitely fills a need. He's a true power forward who can
score
> efficiently in the low post and is a decent rebounder. But he has been
> on some really terrible basketball teams. Maybe that's why I don't
like
> him. He just seems cursed. I don't believe he's the reason these teams
> are bad, but he also has proven he isn't a guy who can make a huge
> difference on his own. He was signed to the mid-level exception this
> past offseason, so he has five more years after this. That's
reasonable
> money, but a lot of years. He's tradeable, but not someone teams will
be
> knocking your door down for.
> 
> Insider says it's Howard and Garrity, who has four more seasons.
That's
> a lot of commitments. The good news is, if that's the deal, then the
> Celts would have to include Walter to make it work. So there's the
> addition by subtraction aspect to consider. 
> 
> Insider says Ainge has offers involving Mills/Mihm out there for guys
> like Howard (No. 1 on the list), Williamson and Dale Davis and is
> waiting for someone to bite. Howard probably is the best fit in terms
of
> talent, but Davis would be a nice fit also, and only has one more year
> on his deal. He'd be a valuable trade chip next season.
> 
> I don't know. I'm torn on Juwan Howard. Maybe it goes back to his days
> with the Fab Five in Michigan (I know, that's irrational, but I can't
> help it). It would be nice to have some bona fide NBA big men next
> season - Lafrentz and Howard, along with Blount and Perkins - but I'm
> still torn. Thoughts?
> 
> Mark
> 
> --- --- ---
> 
> Kestas wrote:
> 
> I think that they are very different players (drinking aside) in terms
> of how
> they score. Taylor is just not a low-post player. I have this image of
> him as a
> pretty-soft, injury-prone finesse PF who shoots midrange jumpers. When
> he's on,
> he's pretty hard to turn off. I remember him torching Toine a few
years
> back.
> Maybe I haven't seen enough of him.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sean Giovanello [mailto:sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 9:20 AM
> To: Berry, Mark S
> Cc: celtics@xxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Malik Rose
> 
> If Danny has a long term plan, he cant make any of the deals.  That
is, 
> unless he is Rick Pitino with an eye for talent....
> 
> Berry, Mark S wrote:
> 
> >Rose for Mills and Jones doesn't work. The salaries don't match up.
In
> >fact, playing around on RealGM, I couldn't find a combination that
made
> >sense.
> >
> >
> >
> >But, let's assume they came up with something. What are everyone's
> >thoughts on Malik Rose? Personally, I love the guy. He's a warrior.
He
> >makes winning plays. Anyone who liked Eric Williams would love Malik
> >Rose. He's an undersized power forward, but at least he's a power
> >forward. He fills a need.
> >
> >
> >
> >So what's the problem? Well, he has a huge five-year contract. He got
> >one of those deals that made you take a second look when it was
> >announced. He's a nice player. I'd love a guy like that, but only if
> >he's making about half the money Rose is currently making. Rose is
one
> >of those guys who was overpaid by his team because he was so valuable
> to
> >them, but probably wouldn't be as valuable to anyone else.
> >
> >
> >
> >Would I do this trade? If it's Rose and San Antonio's first-rounder
for
> >Mills and Jones, I probably don't do it. You're taking on a bad,
> >long-term contract and the only incentive would be a very late
> >first-round pick - and every year you hear about teams trying to dump
> >those picks so they don't have to pay the guaranteed contract. Do the
> >Spurs own the rights to any promising foreign players? Do they own
> >anyone else's first-rounder? Ray, do you know of anything? It would
> take
> >something like that to prod me into making this trade. This is
> assuming,
> >of course, that Ginobli is off limits.
> >
> >
> >
> >These are the types of players we're talking about now. They all have
> >bad contracts - Williamson, Rose, Jahidi White. The key is how much
the
> >other team is willing to pay to convince you to take the bad
contract.
> >If it's just a low first-rounder, that shouldn't be enough.
Personally,
> >I'm still hoping the Suns include either Vujanic (our answer at point
> >guard) or Zarko (maybe the answer at power forward). Casey Jacobsen
> >doesn't cut it.
> >
> >
> >
> >The point is this: The return we get for the Mills contract shouldn't
> be
> >based on the player with the big contract. It should depend on the
> >sweetener.
> >
> >
> >
> >Mark