Pitino would've
tangled the Nets too - According to the
Star-Ledger: The extended fall of Rick Pitino, who
resigned as coach, GM and president of the Celtics last week, begs an
interesting question: Would the Nets be better off if Pitino
had become coach and executive VP of the Nets? Before New Jersey hired John Calipari in 1996,
they offered the job to Pitino and he accepted. But before signing, Pitino left
on a trip to Ireland organized by Kentucky boosters. That was the last the Nets
saw of him. 'We had a date picked for a press conference,' said Michael Rowe,
who, as team president, conducted negotiations with Pitino. Rowe is now a Nets
consultant. While Pitino had complete control over the Celtics, he wasn't going
to have as much power with the Nets. Rowe was to remain president while Pitino
handled the basketball side with a GM reporting to him. The pressure
wouldn't have been as great, so perhaps it would have
slowed the frenetic pace at which Pitino poorly overhauled and then constantly
tinkered with his roster. Celtics Rant - Nets Rant
Fortson pegs
Pitino as Celtics culprit - According to the Boston
Herald: The Warriors always wondered why the Celtics were so intent to
ship off Danny Forston despite his obvious talents. The main
reason stated by then-coach Rick Pitino was he simply couldn't
guarantee Fortson the minutes he craved. But the 6-foot-8 forward suspects a
specific incident last season had something to do with it. In an infamous
blowout loss to the Magic, the Celts argued openly on the bench, and it was Fortson who
raised his voice with Pitino. ``You never
know. It could be,'' said Fortson, leading the NBA in rebounding after six games
(16.3 per game) until the stress fracture in his right foot that cost him two
months last season needed further surgery. ``At that point, everybody was
frustrated with losing, and I'm sitting on the bench and I know I can go out
there and get 20 rebounds or something to help the team, of course I'll feel a
little upset. Everybody got into it that night, it wasn't just me. I know I'm
one of the best power forwards out there, given a chance to play and do what I
can do. And I'm not the kind of person who's going to let somebody tell me or
try to make me believe that I really can't play or something.'' Pitino felt the
Celts couldn't play Antoine Walker at small forward,
undermining Fortson's chances for consistent playing time. Celtics Rant - Warriors Rant 