It was 1997. Deep into the Pitino years which is a tragedy in itself right off the bat. I was willing to give rick a chance at firs. I knew how good a caoch he was and how much he knew about basketball as did everyone in the country. Someone was going to give him a job in the bigs as long as he wanted it. That someone was the Boston Celtics. Still reeling from the tragic deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis (some say we still are) which would have set any franchise back a decade or two, the celtics were desperate to bring a big name to boston to give the fans an excuse not to give up and they were in no position to go out and get a major free agent which has never been the celtics style of developing a championship team anyway. All of Red Auerbachs titles were "self-made" coming from well rounded scoring depth and countless smart signings, but when the two greatest players of the upcoming generation up and died, all that potential depth had no surface to flow over it and the net result was the depth of a four inch kiddie pool. The Celtics may have abandoned the old strategies in favor of taking the easy way and buying a dominant big man but again, they were in no position to do that, and so they brought in Rick Pitino and he was just plain awful. His teams wern't the most talented but compare the dire results he got from his listliss clubs to the performance Jim Obrien has gotten from a roster that isnt all that much more talented than they were. As the 97 rounded out their were suspicsions that Pitino was not nessarilly throwing games and trying to lose but certainly was not trying at all costs to avoid losing the most games in the league for the most balls in the tank, and the best shot at the number one draft pick. Everyone knew it was for Tim Duncan. There was no chance of him slipping to the 2 or 3 or 4 pick. whoever won the lottery was getting Duncan and was winning a championship in the near future. In the old days before the lottery, you might as well have stapled a celtic clover on to Duncans head as soon the regular season ended. The Celtics were the worst team in 1997 and deserved the best draft pick. but of course it just wouldnt be exiting enough that way. you have a lottery to add a sense of drama (like a real game!) and a chance that things wont work out in a way thats "fair" and the worst teams wont get their first pick. Still the Celtics had a chance and theoretically a better chance then anyone else. When I heard the announcement that it went to the Spurs I felt my whole body and the whole region around me sinnk. The Celtics were just robbed of a franchise player for the third straight time. The draft came and went. the spurs picked duncan and the celtics got chauncy billups who politley waited untill boston had given up on him to blossum into a solid player. Anyone could have predicted the results but no one knew how fast it would happen. The Spurs IMMEDIATLEY won the championship well the Celtics spiraled further and furher away from the glory that made them the signature franchise of the NBA. Now Duncans about to win another championship and if he doesnt now he will soon and then win another. If the Celtics had gotten Duncan they wouldve never gotten Paul Pierce barrin a stirring coincidence but it would be a worthwhile sacrafice. Its so hard for me to whatch Duncan succeed as fun as he is to whatch for most people. I cant stand knowing that if things had worked out just a little differently. If the ball had landed an inch to the left or right, hed be in a Celtics uniform and the Celtics would be chasing number 17, maybe 18 or 19 and competing again with the Lakers reigniting the old rivalry and perhaps leading basketball into another golden age. but it wasnt to be. just like reggie lewis wasnt to be. just like len bias wasnt to be. and thats when it all went so wrong. thats when someone upstairs decided "thats enough...no one who resides above the mason dixon line and north east of manhatten deserves this much joy in this game." The non acquiring Tim Duncan wasnt the worst loss or the most painful but it was the one we have rubbed in our faces the most. The one we constantly get to see just what were missing out on.
What about this year; isn't it true that if Chris Wallace had waited to take Denver's first round pick this year instead of grabbing it up before, the Celtics would have the third pick overall in this draft and be able to take Carmelo Anthony instead of some guy at #16?
Their pick was a future pick that was only first pick protected, ours was a first rounder in 2001 not protected at all.
sigh...well at least this time we didnt get the top pick and have him coke himself to death that very night
I'll never forget the joke that circulated at the time..... What do Rock Hudson and Len Bias have in common? Both died from the same thing.......an overdose of crack. (
