I mean, people! VIN BAKER! How do you get better--either from a basketball point of view or from a financial point of view--by trading for Vin Baker? VIN BAKER! Vin Baker is NOT a good NBA player! Shammond Williams is NOT a good NBA player!
The point of this deal is to save money NEXT SEASON--it is a QUICK FIX--the team wasn't going to be able to re-sign Rodney Rogers (not to mention Erick Strickland or Mark Blount) without taking the dreaded luxury tax hit! So, rather than suffering through a temporarily bloated payroll (i.e., dealing with a $62 mil payroll next season, ONE SEASON, then letting Kenny Anderson's contract die a natural death) and maintaining the current roster of guys who took you from the lottery to the Eastern Conference Finals, you have traded for the hated--and I do mean HATED--Vin Baker! Which kills yr chances of adding any significant players over the next 3-4 years! VIN BAKER! Stop trying to put a positive spin on this, people! VIN BAKER SUCKS!
All you have to do to know how much worse the Celtics just got here is to look at the top ten players (each team needs 9-10 guys who can PLAY, who can CONTRIBUTE for you) from 2001-02, then compare these guys to the top ten guys from 2002-03. Here are your top ten players from the 2001-02 Boston Celtics first (based on minutes/game):
1 Antoine Walker
2 Paul Pierce
3 Kenny Anderson
4 Tony Delk
5 Tony Battie
6 Eric Williams
7 Rodney Rogers
8 Erick Strickland
9 Vitaly Potapenko
10 Walter McCarty
NOW, take a look at your 2002-03 Boston Celtics:
1 Antoine Walker
2 Paul Pierce
3 Vin Baker
4 Tony Delk
5 Tony Battie
6 Eric Williams
7 Shammond Williams
8 Walter McCarty
9 Kedrick Brown
10 JR Bremer
You are replacing Kenny Anderson with Vin Baker at #3 (a downgrade, and that's coming from someone who doesn't like Anderson at ALL); you are replacing Rodney Rogers with Shammond Williams (a SIGNIFICANT downgrade, dear LORD what a downgrade); you are replacing Erick Strickland with Walter McCarty, who moves up from #10 to #8 (not a good thing AT ALL); you are replacing Vitaly Potapenko with Kedrick Brown, who moves up from #13 (he was behind #11 Milt Palacio and #12 Mark Blount last year in minutes/game) to #9 (and the dude IS NOT READY to play important minutes for a serious contender, in case you don't know--although, to be fair, it's nice to finally get rid of Potapenko's contract, and Brown certainly has an upside, although how much better is Richard Jefferson, who the Celts COULD'VE drafted over Brown?); and you are replacing McCarty with JR BREMER at #10, that's right, JR BREMER, WHO DIDN'T EVEN GET DRAFTED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
IN OTHER WORDS: You are replacing Kenny Anderson, Rodney Rogers, Erick Strickland, and Vitaly Potapenko with Vin Baker, Shammond Williams, Kedrick Brown, and JR Bremer. NOT GOOD!
And WHO THE HELL starts at point guard for this team? Here is Tony Delk's career high in assists/game: 2.6. Here is Shammond Williams' career high in assists/game: 2.8. And DON'T TELL ME that you're going to let Antoine Walker play "the point forward position," I don't want to hear it! How the HELL is a team with no point guard going to get the ball to Vin Baker just the way Vin Baker likes it? Answer: IT'S NOT!
And HOW is Vin Baker a better player than Rodney Rogers? Answer: HE'S NOT! How is Vin Baker going to fit into the Celtics' up-tempo game? Answer: HE'S NOT! How is Vin Baker going to respond to four years of boos and cat-calls from the Boston media and fans? Answer: VERY POORLY! You're talking about a depressive personality here, people! You're talking about somebody who couldn't handle the pressure of playing for THE SEATTLE SUPERSONICS! How is the pressure of playing for the BOSTON CELTICS going to be less than the pressure of playing for Seattle? Answer: IT'S NOT!
I just don't GET how you fellers think that your Celtics didn't just get A WHOLE LOT WORSE here! I just don't! Don't get me wrong, you're still a playoff team, Pierce and Walker (and O'Brien) are simply too damn good to let this team completely fall apart. But HOW is this team going to be a top four team in the East? Here are my projected 2002-03 Eastern Conference standings (along with the average win-loss records of Eastern Conference teams PER POSITION IN THE STANDINGS over the past seven years--keep in mind that these win-loss records are inflated, since the East of 5 years ago was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the East of today--but I'm a statistical purist, so humor me):
1 Nets 60-22
2 Pistons 55-27
3 Hornets 52-30
4 Bucks 49-33
5 Celtics 48-34
6 Magic 47-35
7 76ers 44-38
8 Pacers 43-39
---
9 Heat 41-41
10 Raptors 37-45
11 Bulls 34-48
12 Hawks 31-51
13 Knicks 27-55
14 Wizards 24-58
15 Cavs 16-66
I don't know, fellas--I just don't know. ACTUALLY, I DO know--the Celtics just got WORSE! Prepare for The Vin Baker Era, people! You're not going to like it! I mean, come ON, don't be like these Warriors fans around here who are "optimistic" about "their team in a couple of years"--be REALISTIC. Optimism is great, no doubt, but this team won't be back in the Eastern Conference Finals for A LONG LONG TIME! Sorry! I'm not trying to piss you people off, I'm just trying to put a STOP to the ridiculous "I think Vin Baker can be a big player for us" posts! COME TO YOUR SENSES, PEOPLES!
The point of this deal is to save money NEXT SEASON--it is a QUICK FIX--the team wasn't going to be able to re-sign Rodney Rogers (not to mention Erick Strickland or Mark Blount) without taking the dreaded luxury tax hit! So, rather than suffering through a temporarily bloated payroll (i.e., dealing with a $62 mil payroll next season, ONE SEASON, then letting Kenny Anderson's contract die a natural death) and maintaining the current roster of guys who took you from the lottery to the Eastern Conference Finals, you have traded for the hated--and I do mean HATED--Vin Baker! Which kills yr chances of adding any significant players over the next 3-4 years! VIN BAKER! Stop trying to put a positive spin on this, people! VIN BAKER SUCKS!
All you have to do to know how much worse the Celtics just got here is to look at the top ten players (each team needs 9-10 guys who can PLAY, who can CONTRIBUTE for you) from 2001-02, then compare these guys to the top ten guys from 2002-03. Here are your top ten players from the 2001-02 Boston Celtics first (based on minutes/game):
1 Antoine Walker
2 Paul Pierce
3 Kenny Anderson
4 Tony Delk
5 Tony Battie
6 Eric Williams
7 Rodney Rogers
8 Erick Strickland
9 Vitaly Potapenko
10 Walter McCarty
NOW, take a look at your 2002-03 Boston Celtics:
1 Antoine Walker
2 Paul Pierce
3 Vin Baker
4 Tony Delk
5 Tony Battie
6 Eric Williams
7 Shammond Williams
8 Walter McCarty
9 Kedrick Brown
10 JR Bremer
You are replacing Kenny Anderson with Vin Baker at #3 (a downgrade, and that's coming from someone who doesn't like Anderson at ALL); you are replacing Rodney Rogers with Shammond Williams (a SIGNIFICANT downgrade, dear LORD what a downgrade); you are replacing Erick Strickland with Walter McCarty, who moves up from #10 to #8 (not a good thing AT ALL); you are replacing Vitaly Potapenko with Kedrick Brown, who moves up from #13 (he was behind #11 Milt Palacio and #12 Mark Blount last year in minutes/game) to #9 (and the dude IS NOT READY to play important minutes for a serious contender, in case you don't know--although, to be fair, it's nice to finally get rid of Potapenko's contract, and Brown certainly has an upside, although how much better is Richard Jefferson, who the Celts COULD'VE drafted over Brown?); and you are replacing McCarty with JR BREMER at #10, that's right, JR BREMER, WHO DIDN'T EVEN GET DRAFTED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
IN OTHER WORDS: You are replacing Kenny Anderson, Rodney Rogers, Erick Strickland, and Vitaly Potapenko with Vin Baker, Shammond Williams, Kedrick Brown, and JR Bremer. NOT GOOD!
And WHO THE HELL starts at point guard for this team? Here is Tony Delk's career high in assists/game: 2.6. Here is Shammond Williams' career high in assists/game: 2.8. And DON'T TELL ME that you're going to let Antoine Walker play "the point forward position," I don't want to hear it! How the HELL is a team with no point guard going to get the ball to Vin Baker just the way Vin Baker likes it? Answer: IT'S NOT!
And HOW is Vin Baker a better player than Rodney Rogers? Answer: HE'S NOT! How is Vin Baker going to fit into the Celtics' up-tempo game? Answer: HE'S NOT! How is Vin Baker going to respond to four years of boos and cat-calls from the Boston media and fans? Answer: VERY POORLY! You're talking about a depressive personality here, people! You're talking about somebody who couldn't handle the pressure of playing for THE SEATTLE SUPERSONICS! How is the pressure of playing for the BOSTON CELTICS going to be less than the pressure of playing for Seattle? Answer: IT'S NOT!
I just don't GET how you fellers think that your Celtics didn't just get A WHOLE LOT WORSE here! I just don't! Don't get me wrong, you're still a playoff team, Pierce and Walker (and O'Brien) are simply too damn good to let this team completely fall apart. But HOW is this team going to be a top four team in the East? Here are my projected 2002-03 Eastern Conference standings (along with the average win-loss records of Eastern Conference teams PER POSITION IN THE STANDINGS over the past seven years--keep in mind that these win-loss records are inflated, since the East of 5 years ago was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the East of today--but I'm a statistical purist, so humor me):
1 Nets 60-22
2 Pistons 55-27
3 Hornets 52-30
4 Bucks 49-33
5 Celtics 48-34
6 Magic 47-35
7 76ers 44-38
8 Pacers 43-39
---
9 Heat 41-41
10 Raptors 37-45
11 Bulls 34-48
12 Hawks 31-51
13 Knicks 27-55
14 Wizards 24-58
15 Cavs 16-66
I don't know, fellas--I just don't know. ACTUALLY, I DO know--the Celtics just got WORSE! Prepare for The Vin Baker Era, people! You're not going to like it! I mean, come ON, don't be like these Warriors fans around here who are "optimistic" about "their team in a couple of years"--be REALISTIC. Optimism is great, no doubt, but this team won't be back in the Eastern Conference Finals for A LONG LONG TIME! Sorry! I'm not trying to piss you people off, I'm just trying to put a STOP to the ridiculous "I think Vin Baker can be a big player for us" posts! COME TO YOUR SENSES, PEOPLES!