Re: At least it still means something to somebody

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

> >How would some of you feel about a Walker for Van Horn swap?  But
> then
> >how will we pay him?  The new CBA better allow us a way to lock up
> our
> >lottery guys.
> >
> >Josh
>
> Exactly....how would Gaston pay him? In any case...I'm going to guess
> that
> Walker and Van Horn have about the same fg%, but Walker gets more
> assists
> and rebounds/game. Yes? I'd stick with Walker. Walker has a better
> all-around game.

> Paul M.

****

Nevertheless, I would think that Van Horn has considerably more trade
value than 'Toine, because he is a blue-collar fan favorite and has an
additional 2 years left on his rookie contract. So I can't picture why
Calipari would trade him, particularly for a player with a growing
reputation for insubordination who is seeking an immediate and
stratospheric contract extension.

IMO, the Boston media, Pitino's ego and Walker's immaturity have
combined to make AW a hard-to-trade player, regardless of his still
untapped but mind-blowing potential and his quick ascent to All Star
status under RP's coaching. I think our Celtics have no choice but to 1)
trade him for considerably less than what he's worth or 2) sign him at a
market value that is  temporarily skewed in favor of flawed 3rd year
pros. Even trading AW for chump change (as with Eric Williams) won't
free the cap space to suddenly enter the Goog sweepstakes.

We enjoy speculating about "fair-value" trade scenarios involving the
Vin Bakers, Van Horns, Grant Hills and Shareefs out there, but to me
that's all wishful thinking. I'll be glad to be proven wrong, but I
think the best arrangement we can hope for is a late-career All Star
(ideally D.Robinson) or a pair of unexceptional, younger role players
(Bo Outlaw and Bonehead Keon). Such a trade would be laughed about as a
colossal (and uncharacteristic) Boston Celtics' blunder 2 to 10 years
from now if Walker even reaches 80% of the potential he has under
Pitino's continued tutelage. Admit it folks, this guy has ALL the raw
tools, even upstairs (at least in terms of competitiveness/killer
instinct). But with injuries or under the wrong NBA coach and system, he
could also conceivably fizzle out into Mashburn/Jim Jackson status. If
that happens I'll be overjoyed to eat my words.

But for now, I  think the Celtics need to show Toine the money
(preferably with a mutual 3rd year escape clause), NOT because he
deserves it already (unfortunately, that's not the point) but because it
seems to be the most logical choice by far among the risky alternatives.
That's just my opinion.

Go 'Toine, Ron, Kenny and Paul!


JoeH

****