Daily Babble: Latest Trading Chips Get One Thumb Down, One Up

The sour commentary first:

Thumbs down: To Smush Parker, who is being shopped by Miami less than three months into his tenure there.  In fairness, I have long since stopped being objective about this individual, particularly since I named him the NBA's Least Valuable Player for the 2006-07 campaign.  My thoughts then:

[Parker] is a point guard who doesn't distribute too well (2.8 apg), doesn't rebound (2.5 rpg), isn't a great shooter (.437 from the field), can't shoot free throws (.645), and doesn't even score all that much (11.1). With the exception of the fact that he occasionally tries hard for a few plays at a time on defense, he tends to be completely useless. And he is known to have occasional attitude issues. Great.

That was at the end of last season, before he got his shot with the Heat.  In the interest of full disclosure, it seems worth noting that since then, Parker has managed to do a putrid job as a reserve for nine games (.315 shooting, 4.8 points, 1.7 assists, 0.9 turnovers in 20.4 minutes per game) and gotten himself suspended indefinitely from the Heat for what has officially been described as "an incident with a female valet" and has now been openly placed on the trading block by Miami.  Parker has established a legacy in multiple cities of poor behavior and inept play.  Hard to imagine why any contending team would want to take a chance on bringing him in.

This makes it all the more worrisome that the Celtics are now rumored to be involved in the Parker hunt.  The fact that he is classified as a point guard is the closest Parker comes toward fulfilling what is considered to be one of the Celtics' most crucial needs.  He will not be a mentor for Rajon Rondo, and he will likely be both unproductive and a distraction.  There is virtually no move centered on Parker that the C's could make to bring him in that would be palatable toward improving the team.

Now that we have fulfilled the day's negativity quotient, on to the better review:

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Steve's daily posts can be found on the CelticsBlog NBA page.  Check back daily for quality content.

Thumbs up: To Mickael Pietrus, who isn't thrilled with his reduced role in Golden State and is eligible to be traded as of Tuesday.  Pietrus has seen a major drop in his minutes and his production this season after a career year in 2006-07, but there has been no drop in his athleticism and ability.  He stands 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, but thanks to the Warriors run-and-gun smallball-style system, Pietrus has often been pressed into playing bigger than he is, and it has only served to enhance his versatility.  He can guard three positions and isn't afraid of anyone.  Offensively, he is an excellent leaper with the quickness to become a dangerous slasher, and he can shoot the ball a bit as well.  Pietrus definitely has the potential to be a valuable rotation player on a contending team in this league, and he could provide a valuable spark anywhere he goes.  Further, his $3.47 million contract comes off the books at the end of the year, meaning he won't be a long-term burden for any suitor who turns out to be less than thrilled with his services.

The word is out that Pietrus wants to leave Oakland, and this could lead to his being available at a bargain price.  Probably not the most needed fit for our beloved C's, but he will end up somewhere, and he will make an impact.  Looking forward to watching it happen.