6.07.2011

Was McHale on the Block, too?

February 1989

McHale? No one wanted McHale?

"Sure, all kinds of people want Kevin, but he isn't available, as far as I am concerned," said Auerbach. "To me, McHale, Larry Bird and Parish are untouchables. You don't trade guys like that. Did we ever trade a Russell, or a Cousy, or a Heinsohn, or a Ramsey? No. You don't get back full value for those kinds of players.

"There was a lot of talk in the media about trading McHale, but I would never be for it. Someone gives you a couple of first-round draft choices. So? Will they give you in the future what you know Kevin McHale can give you in the future? Nope. Because unless we really got lucky, and we can't count on that, the choices would not be high enough to get a player of McHale's quality. Hell, someday, if he keeps playing the way he has been, you are talking about a Hall of Fame player, and you don't trade those kinds of players."

Auerbach pointed out that Ed Pinckney and Joe Kleine, obtained from Sacramento for Ainge and Brad Lohaus, were both first-round draft choices. "They were young and had big bodies," he said. "Now we would have a chance if either McHale or Parish got hurt. Before, we did not. We had nothing behind them. There was no balance. Now we have someone we can put in there up front if something happens."

Auerbach feels the Celtics' priority in the draft this June will be a guard.

"I think no matter where we finish now, we will get to draft a good player," he said. "If we don't make the playoffs, we will get in the lottery. If we do make the playoffs, it still looks as though we would pick around 12th on the first round.

"In my opinion, there will be 16-18 players coming out this year who can play well enough to help teams in this league. You've only got one or two centers, about six guards, and the rest are forwards. We should have a chance to get an outstanding guard. But if there was a forward there that we thought could be great, we would still take that player if we thought it would help our club most."

Auerbach also indicated that he won't be enthusiastic about Bird's return until he sees a lot more of Bird in practice. "To me, there is no way he can play before another 2 1/2 or 3 weeks, and I am going to monitor the situation closely," he said. "Larry has a tendency to want to rush things. So the way we are going to handle it is this: When Larry says he is 100 percent and ready to go, that will be half of it. Then when I say that I think Larry is 100 percent and ready to go, we will let him give it a try.

"I do not want him to play this year unless he is 100 percent ready. I do not want anything less, and I don't care if it could mean making the playoffs or not. The No. 1 consideration for me with Bird is Bird's future. Not his present."

Auerbach said the vast majority of Celtics fans have been "fine" about the team's slide this season, but he doesn't like to hear some of the grumbling about new coach Jimmy Rodgers and the job his staff has done. "Everything considered, they have done a good job," Auerbach said. "People forget we are playing a new system, with a lot of new people, and without Bird. There is nothing easier to do than to sit back and criticize.

"I think some people around here are a little spoiled by the success we have had over the years. They don't seem to realize that it is not easy to stay at the top. What we do around here is to try to stay competitive, to put together a team that, with a little luck and a lack of injuries, can do well.

"Things go in cycles in sports. We have had ours. The good part for us is that our downs haven't lasted that long in the past and we were able to come back quickly. I like a lot of the things we have done this year. I like some of our young kids. When Larry is completely healthy and ready to play again, then we could surprise some people."

No comments: