Re: Okafor

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

Mark P., the only problem with your scenario is signing and trading
Blount. It's my understanding now that we can't do that. Maybe I'm
wrong, but I think the Celts would have to use some or all of their
mid-level exception to sign him, something Orlando could do just as
easily. A sign-and-trade really doesn't benefit him, unless that's where
he wants to go anyway and he agrees to it to help balance the numbers
for the trade. But that seems unlikely.



No, I'm sure Orlando would want all three No. 1 picks, Banks, Welsch and
Mihm, with us taking back Okafor and a bad contract - probably Garrity,
maybe Juwan Howard.



Would I do that trade? That's a lot to give up, but I think I would.
You'd still have Atkins, Davis, Pierce, Okafor and LaFrentz as a
starting group, with Perkins set to join the mix soon. And you'd still
have the mid-level exception. If you land a guy like Brent Barry, you're
talking about a pretty strong foundation.



It all depends on what you think of Okafor (I love him) and what you do
to surround that nucleus, because you definitely hurt the bench in this
scenario.



It would pain me to give up Jiri, who I think is a winning team kind of
player. And I wouldn't be wild about giving up Mihm, but let's face it -
the Magic need a center and they're sure to ask about him. I can live
with trading Banks, although I'd like to see them try to hold onto one
of those draft picks to take a developmental point guard to groom behind
Chucky.



Anyway, I think Okafor is a difference-maker and a winner. He's a
warrior. He's a cross between Alonzo Mourning and Kenyon Martin. That's
good enough for me.



Mark