Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V4 #381

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@nopg.com>]

>Your point revolves around the fact that as a #3 pick, he should be
>> performing at a higher level.
This question has been raised before, but if Rick had taken Mercer at #3 
(where I and a lot of people thoughthe should have gone, and his play 
bears this out) and Billups at #6, would people still be so down on 
Billups? Yes, he was probably taken higher than he should have been. had 
there not been two teams between picks 3 and 6 who needed point guards, 
maybe Rick would have done it differently. I think some of us are 
obsessing on the "third pick in the draft" mantra. Try pretending he was 
the sixth pick if it makes you feel better -- historically, mid to late 
lotery picks tend to struggle.


                                    
           Peter Delevett             
            Staff Writer         
     New Orleans CityBusiness       
         pdelevett@nopg.com