wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker) (04/15/85)
Yahoo! The Sonics made it! For a while there I was afraid that they would do something dumb like start to win. Now they have a one in seven chance of getting the mondo pick, no. 1. Why should Seattle trade the pick if they get it? So far, all the comments have been to the effect that it would be extremely stupid to pass on Patrick Ewing because he may become one of those once in a lifetime players, like Kareem. Maybe he will, but it will be at least a couple of years before he plays at that kind of level. At the moment, Ewing is a great defensive player. In time he may be a great offensive player. However, Seattle doesn't need defense, it needs offense. Sure, you could draft Ewing and start a frontline of Ewing, Sikma, and Tom Chambers. That would be one of the best defensive frontlines in the league, but it wouldn't score any points. Seattle seems to be in desperate need of some offensive players. Henderson is a good playmaker, Sikma rebounds well and puts in his 15-20 points a game, but there is a dearth of pure shooters on the team. Seattle needs a shooting guard and a forward who rebounds, hustles, and gets his shots in. Who better than Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale? This is just one suggestion. The idea is that it would be stupid to draft a center when you have one of the best centers in the league. Look at Portland. They could have drafted Michael Jordan, but they took Bowie instead. Everyone said that they were making a mistake. No mistake. Portland needs another guard like it needs a hole in the head. Yes, Jordan has had a great rookie season, but Bowie has done well and the Trailblazers are looking strong for the playoffs. Same situation for Seattle. The Sonics don't need another center. If Sikma is looking a little worn around the edges, it's because he must carry the team too much of the time. He has a lot of good years of b-ball left; no need to replace him yet. If they get the number one pick, they should trade it. They could trade down and pick up a high draft number and a premier player in return. Or they can go looking for veterans. My only concern is that the Sonic front office has an absolutely horrendous record when it comes to trading. They're so stupid they would probably trade a no. 1 pick for Dan Issel. Bill Baker tektronix!reed!wab
roy@hpmtla.UUCP (roy) (04/16/85)
What did Dan Issel ever do to you?
gowie@hplvla.UUCP (gowie) (04/16/85)
I'm not a Patrick Ewing ( is that spelled right ) fan but I do feel any team that would pass him up should have their skulls checked. Dave McGownd hplvla!gowie
plw@panda.UUCP (Pete Williamson) (04/16/85)
Danny Ainge AND Kevin McHale for Patrick Ewing ?? There is little possibility that the Celts would ever do that. Boston consecutively sells out the Garden because of the popularity of its players, not because of World Championships (although they certainly help). The attendence figures during the "DYNASTY YEARS" are embarrassingly low. But since Larry arrived, you can't buy a ticket. BIRD, McHale, and Ainge are arguably the three most popular players in today's Celtics uniforms. RED would never trade two of them away ... he'd have a revolt on his hands and the attendence would drop. One might further argue that the major reason Gerald was dealt to Seattle was to allow Danny to blossom. The feeling in Boston is that we improved, especially on outside shooting and defense. Greg Kite and Carlos Clark are available, however !!
chefitz@harvard.ARPA (Harry Chefitz) (04/17/85)
> BIRD, McHale, and Ainge are arguably the three most popular players in > today's Celtics uniforms... If we're talking POPULAR (and not best), then I think you have to place ML Carr ahead of both McHale and Ainge. Even so, I wouldn't mind seeing a Carr for Ewing trade. :-) -- Harry H. Chefitz UUCP: {seismo, ihnp4, allegra, ut-sally}!harvard!chefitz ARPA: chefitz@harvard
sdp21@ihlts.UUCP (steve pruitt) (04/19/85)
> Danny Ainge AND Kevin McHale for Patrick Ewing ?? > > There is little possibility that the Celts would ever do that. > > Boston consecutively sells out the Garden because of the popularity > of its players... I agree with you that Boston (RED) probably wouldn't make such a move for similar reasons but with a slightly different twist. If we're talking about the same Boston that's supposedly one of the most racially divided US cities (outside of Chicago of course), they would loose much of their local appeal two fold: first by giving away two members of the league's declining commodity (the WHITE player) and second getting in return one big, black (and supposedly ugly) dude (...who speaks with a slight accent when he speaks at all?). Remember the only way they took Parish was in return for the draft rights to McHale for which they gladly gave up the draft rights to Mr. J. B. Carrol. This of course was also a good basketball move above and beyond the racial implications (could JBC have ever fit in the Boston's style of play?). The real issues are: 1) will "The Boys" get to Magic again in the championship series??? and 2) will a powerful Texas lobby make a decent race for rookie-of-the-year between Akeam-The Dream (Ralph Sampson's dream come true, now I don't have to play center any more) Olijawan and Mike-Nike (I drive a chevy, when it's raining so my Benz won't get wet) Aire-Jordan. Go Bulls >> destroy the Bucks??? Steven P. ""Living forever isn't just a dream, but wake me up when the Great Tribulation is over!""
thr@cbscc.UUCP (Tim H. Robinson) (04/23/85)
> Look at Portland. They could > have drafted Michael Jordan, but they took Bowie instead. Everyone > said that they were making a mistake. No mistake. Portland needs > another guard like it needs a hole in the head. Yes, Jordan has > had a great rookie season, but Bowie has done well and the > Trailblazers are looking strong for the playoffs. NO MISTAKE!!!!! Are you a Bull and Nugget fanatic! Portland might not need another guard, but everyone needs Michael Jordon. The MJ vs. Bowie draft, as well as the Cooper, Lever, Natt vs. Kiki trade, will go down in history as the worst draft/deal ever made. Using ONLY Portland's 'regular' starting line-up and the players who were directly involved by the draft/trade, let's make 2 hypothetical teams: BEFORE Starters Reserves ------- -------- Jordon Lever Paxson Valentine Cooper --- Thompson Drexler Natt --- This is a tremendous team which would have included 4 current/former All-Stars. This team has it all - speed, scoring, defense, rebounding, you name it. The depth is not even matched by the Lakers when you included Portland's other players. Plus, the versatility of many of the players, especially Jordan, Thompson, and Drexler, gives this team many dimensions and weapons. There are 8 starters on this team! HOWEVER, using the same 'players-of-interest', now picture this team: AFTER Starters Reserves -------- -------- Paxson Valentine Drexler --- Bowie --- Thompson --- Kiki --- It isn't pretty is it. You loose speed, defense, rebounding, scoring, depth, not to mention 2 current All-Stars; is there anything left to loose. Let's face it, Jordon out scored, stealed, assisted, and rebounded Sam Bowie; he is unquestionably one of the best players in the league. Bowie is, and will always be, an average NBA center; one day soon, Jordon will be the best. I am a big Blazer fan and believe that Portland is looking strong mainly due to the vast improvement of Bowie. However, with the "BEFORE" team, the Blazers would have been vying for a championship this June, instead of barely being a .500 club. - Tim Robison