Celtics Offering Davis/Powe For Saras

[mark at 10thumbs.org]

I agree with you Kestas that Jasikevicius has been on teams that are not a
great fit for him. the IND team was a mess and Nellie clearly loves both
Baron Davis and Monta Ellis.  I think he and House would be a nice backup
tandem.... House if we need scoring, Jaskiveiscus if we need distro.

And i think you're right, i don't think Ainge will do a deal now, he
sounds either (a) set with our roster or (b) wants to wait until maybe
Training Camp cuts occur. Though it is worth noting that Ainge expressed
some interest in Jasikeviscuis back when he ended up signing with IND.

Finally -- the only way to make the $ work is to do a Scal + Powe or Davis
(I imagine GS would prefer Bay Area hero Powe....).  If that were the
deal, it would actually help out with the lux tax b/c we'd get out of the
last 2 years of Scal's contrct.

I dont' think i'd to that though --- b/c we'd be criminially thin up
front. If they turned around and signed Brian Skinner, I'd do it, but that
seems even more unlikely.

(the other) mark

------------
John Lyell wrote:
> If Pietrus is involved this is a good deal, if not Saras is not worth
it. They should have went after Navarro
>
>
Navarro is averaging 11.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg., and 1.3 apg in the European
Championships, while Jasikevicius is averaging 12, 3.7 rpg, and
tournament-leading 5.7 apg, and is clearly is the best point guard in
the tournament despite playing injured. More importantly, his team is
the only undefeated team (6-0), easily crunching through, among others,
France led by Tony Parker, whom he completely overshadowed with his
playmaking and leadership.

Now, it may be the case that Saras is a great European PG, but cannot be
so in the NBA because of his lack of athleticism. However, the PG is the
one position in which athleticism is probably least relevant. I think,
like most players, he just needs a chance to play and do what he does
best. Neither Indiana nor GS was a great fit. In Indiana, he was mostly
told to stand on the 3-point line waiting for a kickout in Carlisle's
rigid offense and used a lot as a 2-guard, and Nellie in GS was in love
with Baron Davis's and Monta Ellis's games. Apparently, he was told
right after the trade that he wasn't going to play in GS, so he asked
his agent to talk to GS about trading him to the team that wants him.

That's where things stand now - GS is looking for the right trade and
the agent and Saras are looking for the right team. If no suitable trade
materializes, he may go back to Europe where several top teams
(Olympiakos in Greece and Real Madrid) apparently have offers in the
$10M/yr. range.  His preference, however, is  to give the NBA one more
shot. I hope it is with the Celtics, because I think he would be a great
fit. Rondo and Saras are very complementary players in that Rondo's
strengths (defense, speed, athleticism) are Saras's weaknesess, and his
strengths (playmaking and shooting) are Rondo's weaknesses. Also,
Garnett will cover for a lot of defensive weaknesses,  while  Saras
would be great at getting Pierce, Allen and Garnett easy shots.

That said, I don't think Ainge will do it. He has said repeatedly that
they're set at PG, with the Allens and possibly  Pruitt playing backup
PG. Plus, there's the lux tax issue.
Kestas