Re: Here's a trade to make

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Well put.  I guess I think that Banks is not a shoot-first
point.  He will fearlessly put up pull-up jumpers, but he's
no Steve Francis; he rarely shoots three pointers when there
is something better available.  He has been developing in
Jim O'Brien's system, which is very hard to play PG in.  He
was getting blocked at the rim constantly, and had to work
through that, and has.  And of course he has made some 
beautiful passes on the fly that showed me the best promise
of a happy future.  But I agree, a dominant vet would help
us (and him) a lot.  James is a good backup combo guard, 
really a luxury we can't afford right now.  Brent Barry is 
a pussy; I don't see him leading the team.  I would love to
wrest Jason Williams away from Memphis, but that won't 
happen.  If I were Ainge, I would be on the lookout for
cut-rate veterans.  Bargain-basement PGs (Earl Boykins, 
Bobby Jackson, etc) have
turned around worse franchises than our own, and recently.
Jaamal Tinsley is a guy who could make a difference, and we could have had
him for very little last year.  I wouldn't hesitate to give the 
ball to Jiri Welsch for three or four games, to see how he might
do -- although it might be asking too much to have him play 
injured at major minutes at a new position.

Josh
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 12:45 PM
Subject: RE: Here's a trade to make


I haven't given up on him, but I'm not putting all my eggs in his
basket. The scary thing is the total lack of progress this season. He's
still a guy who looks for his own offense first, last and always and
doesn't have a clue how to run a team. He's better than James simply
because he plays better defense and pushes the ball up the floor. But
right now, that's the extent of his contributions.

The Celtics need a strong hand and leader at point guard. They've played
one way so long, it's going to take a dominant kind of player at that
position to wrest control of the offense away from Pierce. Look what
Kidd did to New Jersey. The Celtics need a similar kind of player (I
know there isn't another Kidd out there; but they need that kind of
leader at PG). 

Pierce is lost out there right now. He needs leadership. That means
coaching (and this is huge -- Carroll is doing untold damage) and that
means point guard. I don't want to give up on Banks, but I don't
consider the point guard position settled by any means. I want to see
how he comes back next season. Point guards traditionally make a quantum
leap that second season. If Banks doesn't improve next season, we'll
know there are problems.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:jozersky@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 11:57 AM
To: Berry, Mark S
Subject: Re: Here's a trade to make

Have you already given up on Marcus Banks?  Or just
see the PG as a tutor for him?  He does still have a ways
to go, but I think of him as our PG of the future.  

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 10:52 AM
Subject: Re: Here's a trade to make


> Josh, we need players, especially big men, and even more specifically
> power forwards. Yes, Lafrentz will be back. But you need depth up
front.
> This team went into the season with Baker, Lafrentz, Blount and
Battie.
> Now they're down to Blount and Mihm, and neither guy is challenging
for
> an all-star spot. Juwan Howard certainly would be considered the
> superior player by the rest of the league. I know you believe Perkins
> and Hunter are the answers. I agree that Perkins, eventually, will be
> the starting center and a good one. Hunter, who knows? Maybe Ainge
sees
> him as just a role player at best. If you can cash in an expiring
> contract for a starting power forward, you have to do it. There's
plenty
> of time for Perkins and Hunter. If they're ready sooner than expected,
> you can deal from strength. This gives you a productive player until
the
> kids are ready. This would relegate Walter back to the bench, if not
out
> of Boston altogether (hopefully).
> 
> 
> 
> This is a solid move. The team would be a point guard away from being
> very competitive in the East. Unfortunately, those point guards are
hard
> to find. That's Ainge's job for the offseason.
> 
> 
> 
> Mark
> 
> 
> 
> --- --- ---
> 
> 
> 
> Josh wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> I agree.  Taylor is as soft as goose down, and hasn't
> played a lick of defense in his career.  Of the two, I
> would prefer Malik Rose.  But trading for a starting
> forward is dumb.  We will have a completely healthy
> Raef LaFrentz next year.  Why is Ainge looking at these
> band-aid trades?