Read Online Bird Watching by Larry Bird, Jackie Macmullan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Larry Bird, Jackie Macmullan
Tags: SPO004000
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The Celtics felt they needed a draw, and they were convinced Dominique Wilkins was going to do that for them. But they should have listened a little more closely to the people around them who knew basketball. Chris Ford, who was the coach at that time, didn’t want the Celtics to sign Dominique either. He was mad at Wilkins from his first day of camp because he showed up out of shape. The whole relationship was doomed from the start. Wilkins had a terrible year in Boston. He was unhappy with his minutes, the way Chris used him, everything. That summer the NBA locked out their players while they negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, and Dominique used that to escape to Europe. The Celtics were lucky, because by then the fans had turned against Wilkins, and it was getting pretty ugly. I honestly felt sorry for ’Nique. He’s not a bad guy at all. He got set up to be some kind of savior, and that was never going to happen.
It must have seemed to Chris Ford that he never got who he wanted. In 1994, when the Celtics had the eighth pick in the draft, he wanted the guard from Temple, Eddie Jones, really bad. I could see why. I liked Eddie Jones too, because he was tough and athletic and played really good defense for a college kid. But the Celtics ended up taking the big center from North Carolina, Eric Montross. Somehow it came out that I was against taking Montross, but that really wasn’t true. I wanted to take him, because I knew Parish was going to sign somewhere else as a free agent, and both Red Auerbach and I realized how vital it was to have a center. I figured if it turned out we didn’t like Montross, we’d always be able to trade him. I mean, the kid was seven feet tall, and he was a hard worker.
Besides, the Celtics had just signed Dee Brown to a big six-year contract, and he and Eddie Jones played the same position. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jones would have come in and beat out Brown for the job, but then what are you going to do? You’d have a veteran sitting on the bench making all that money and being very unhappy. I don’t think the Celtics wanted to deal with that. Dee had talent, but Eddie Jones would have beaten him out.
Anyhow, Montross had a really solid rookie season. I thought he might be the best backup center in the league at that time, even though we were asking him to start games. Ever since then, it’s been all downhill for him. Part of it was that Chris Ford got fired after Montross’s first season, and M. L. Carr took over as coach, and he just didn’t use him the right way. The kid lost all his confidence, and then he got traded to Dallas, and has been traded again twice since. I think Montross still could be an effective backup if someone would just spend some time with him and help him get his confidence back.
Of course, the Lakers ended up drafting Eddie Jones with the tenth pick, and he was a steal. He’s been to two All-Star games and has proven he can be a big-time scorer as well as a great defender. No wonder Chris Ford wanted him so bad.
Most of the time when the Celtics ignored my advice I didn’t really say anything. Hey, it’s Gaston’s money, it’s his team. But there was one time, in 1996, when they were talking about trading their number six pick in the draft plus their first-round pick the following season to Toronto. The idea was to get the Raptors’ number two pick in the 1996 draft so the Celtics could take Marcus Camby. For some reason, Gaston and M. L. were really hot on the idea of getting Camby, but I told them I strongly objected to the deal.
They kept talking about how Camby was such a huge star at the University of Massachusetts, and how he would be a big draw, but I couldn’t see that. I was really upset about it, because I felt strongly that either Antoine Walker, who was a scoring forward from Kentucky, or Ray Allen, who was a shooting guard from Connecticut, would be much stronger picks, and would be there when we selected
It must have seemed to Chris Ford that he never got who he wanted. In 1994, when the Celtics had the eighth pick in the draft, he wanted the guard from Temple, Eddie Jones, really bad. I could see why. I liked Eddie Jones too, because he was tough and athletic and played really good defense for a college kid. But the Celtics ended up taking the big center from North Carolina, Eric Montross. Somehow it came out that I was against taking Montross, but that really wasn’t true. I wanted to take him, because I knew Parish was going to sign somewhere else as a free agent, and both Red Auerbach and I realized how vital it was to have a center. I figured if it turned out we didn’t like Montross, we’d always be able to trade him. I mean, the kid was seven feet tall, and he was a hard worker.
Besides, the Celtics had just signed Dee Brown to a big six-year contract, and he and Eddie Jones played the same position. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jones would have come in and beat out Brown for the job, but then what are you going to do? You’d have a veteran sitting on the bench making all that money and being very unhappy. I don’t think the Celtics wanted to deal with that. Dee had talent, but Eddie Jones would have beaten him out.
Anyhow, Montross had a really solid rookie season. I thought he might be the best backup center in the league at that time, even though we were asking him to start games. Ever since then, it’s been all downhill for him. Part of it was that Chris Ford got fired after Montross’s first season, and M. L. Carr took over as coach, and he just didn’t use him the right way. The kid lost all his confidence, and then he got traded to Dallas, and has been traded again twice since. I think Montross still could be an effective backup if someone would just spend some time with him and help him get his confidence back.
Of course, the Lakers ended up drafting Eddie Jones with the tenth pick, and he was a steal. He’s been to two All-Star games and has proven he can be a big-time scorer as well as a great defender. No wonder Chris Ford wanted him so bad.
Most of the time when the Celtics ignored my advice I didn’t really say anything. Hey, it’s Gaston’s money, it’s his team. But there was one time, in 1996, when they were talking about trading their number six pick in the draft plus their first-round pick the following season to Toronto. The idea was to get the Raptors’ number two pick in the 1996 draft so the Celtics could take Marcus Camby. For some reason, Gaston and M. L. were really hot on the idea of getting Camby, but I told them I strongly objected to the deal.
They kept talking about how Camby was such a huge star at the University of Massachusetts, and how he would be a big draw, but I couldn’t see that. I was really upset about it, because I felt strongly that either Antoine Walker, who was a scoring forward from Kentucky, or Ray Allen, who was a shooting guard from Connecticut, would be much stronger picks, and would be there when we selected
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