skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1998923 Updated: Feb. 24, 2005, 10:25 PM ET Walker returns to Celtics in shocker ESPN.com news services Antoine Walker is coming back to Boston after the Celtics traded Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta and Michael Stewart and a first-round draft pick to the Hawks. Atlanta is working on a buyout that would clear Payton to shop his services in search of a new team, ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher is repotring. One of the potential options Payton is considering, according to Bucher, is a return to the Celtics. "We think the addition of Antoine Walker brings needed presence under the boards and a proven winner back to Boston," owner Wyc Grousbeck said. "We are making a playoff push and are focused on becoming a better, bigger team down the stretch." Walker spent seven years with the Celtics from 1996-2003, helping them reach the Eastern Conference finals in 2001-02. But basketball boss Danny Ainge decided after taking over the team during the '03 postseason that it would be better off without its strongest all-around player and its strongest personality. On Thursday, Ainge changed his mind. "I think Antoine improves our team right now, and it doesn't jeopardize our future," Ainge said. "We've been in discussions with Atlanta for about a month. They were looking at taking some of my pieces for the future. Today the price came right and the risk came low." Antoine Walker Forward Atlanta Hawks Profile 2004-2005 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 53 20.4 9.4 3.7 .415 .534 Everyone involved in the trade has a contract that expires after this season, including Walker's deal that is paying him $14.6 million. Ainge said discussions of an extension would wait until the summer and were not a part of the trade. Nine days before the 2003 season opener, Ainge traded Walker along with guard Tony Delk to the Dallas Mavericks for center Raef LaFrentz, guard Jiri Welsch and a first-round draft pick. Welsch was traded to the Cavaliers on Thursday for a 2007 first-round draft pick. The move reunites Walker with Paul Pierce, a duo that took Boston to the 2002 Eastern Conference finals and gave the franchise its best years since the Big Three era of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish -- along with Ainge -- won the last two of a record 16 NBA titles. Ainge said he spoke to Walker on Thursday and any bad feelings are in the past. Walker is trying to get to Salt Lake City in time for Friday night's game, Ainge said. "I think Antoine's ego was hurt a little bit. He's a prideful guy, but I think he knows that it wasn't personal," Ainge said. "I told him it was a lot more pleasant calling him this time. It's never fun making that (other) call. "But, to be honest, I don't care what he thinks of me. I'm just glad he's excited to come to Boston." As a TV analyst before he took over the Celtics, Ainge made no secret of his distaste for Walker's game. When Walker was traded, Ainge commented less on his play than on his influence on the locker room, saying the player "had a grasp on the franchise." "He's been the best player here for quite a while. He's been a vocal leader in the locker room," Ainge said at the time. "Now we're going in a different direction." Walker, who is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $14.6 million, leads Atlanta with 20.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 40.2 minutes per game. In his career, Walker is averaging 20 points and 8.7 rebounds. Payton, who reluctantly came to the Celtics in a summer trade from the Lakers, reportedly was in talks with the Celtics about a contract extension. Payton is eligible to become a free agent after this season. Payton, in his 15th season in the NBA, has started all 54 games this season for the Celtics averaging 32.8 minutes a game. He is averaging 12.1 points and 6.1 assists this season, below his career averages of 17.7 and 7.2. At 36, Payton was seen as a possible mentor for 23-year-old Marcus Banks. But with the trade of Payton and Welsch, the Celtics will now give Banks a chance to learn on the court. As part of the trade, Atlanta cut disgruntled point guard Kenny Anderson and forward Chris Crawford, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sir Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Why are you excited about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 More bricks from three point land, courtesy of the biggest guy on the court! Whoo-hoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Who said I was excited? I do think he gives us a better shot at going deep into the playoffs now that Shaq is done. After all, as much as his game does have flaws he is averaging 20 points and 9 boards a game. There is also talk that once Gary Payton is released by the Hawks that he may resign with the Celts. If that happens I'd really look for Boston to make a run for the Finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by The Sir Why are you excited about that? I noticed you changed your name from ATLHAWKSFAN, I'd be salty too if my team hadn't made the playoffs since 1906. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thito_da_skins_fan Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by skinsfanjoe Who said I was excited? Well, you did..... For my Celtic fans: Antoine Walker is back! Originally posted by skinsfanjoe I do think he gives us a better shot at going deep into the playoffs now that Shaq is done. Shaq is not done. Originally posted by skinsfanjoe If that happens I'd really look for Boston to make a run for the Finals. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halter91 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Champs. Holla! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Laugh if you want but the east is wide open. You have the Pistons, Heat, the Sixers are better now that they aquired Webber but he is no wear as good as he was before his injury, Indiana is lame, the Cavs are young, like I said the east is wide open. I thought they said on ESPN the other day that Shaq was out for the year? If not, my mistake. And Thito, just because I put an exclamation point didn't mean I was excited in a happy we got Antoine back kind of way. When I first saw that Walker was coming back to Boston I was shocked because Danny Ainge criticed his game when he took over in Boston and immediatly shipped him to Dallas as fast as he could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thito_da_skins_fan Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by skinsfanjoe Laugh if you want but the east is wide open. You have the Pistons, Heat, the Sixers are better now that they aquired Webber but he is no wear as good as he was before his injury, Indiana is lame, the Cavs are young, like I said the east is wide open. The East is always wide open, but I don't think Boston strikes fear into too many teams. Philly should win the Atlantic, but NJ has been playing pretty good lately and could easily go on a nice 2nd half run. No mention of the Wizards? Bulls? Magic? All 3 of these teams, IMO, would dismantle the Celtics. Originally posted by skinsfanjoe I thought they said on ESPN the other day that Shaq was out for the year? If not, my mistake. Shaq is day-to-day. The ESPN article was a fake. Originally posted by skinsfanjoe And Thito, just because I put an exclamation point didn't mean I was excited in a happy we got Antoine back kind of way. When I first saw that Walker was coming back to Boston I was shocked because Danny Ainge criticed his game when he took over in Boston and immediatly shipped him to Dallas as fast as he could. I took the exclamation point, as well as you mentioning you were a Celtics fan, as a sign of excitement. My guess is The Sir did too. No big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Your right, I left the Wizards, Bulls and Magic out my bad, the Wizards ore having a great year and the Bulls are one of the biggest surprises in the league this season, the Magic were left our for good reason. If you look at the head to heads against the Celtics so far this year, they are 1 and 1 against the Wiz, 1 and two against the Bulls, and three wins to zero against the Magic. Not very dismantling statistics IMO. As a Celtic fan I have to look at it as after Walker left Paul Pierce hasn't been the same. Paul is not a vocal leader, Antoine was the voice and motivator of the team. A team that went to the eastern conference finals two years ago with basically only a two man team. Now add a Healthy Raef Lafrenz, a more disciplined Ricky Davis, young players Tony Allen and Al Jefferson, and if all goes well you get Gary Payton back who's averaging 12 and 6 assists to go along with Walker, Pierce and Mark Blount and I believe you have a team that has a good mix of youth and veterans to make a run. Maybe I'm looking at this through Green glasses but they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with a much weaker team two years ago and IMO this team is much better. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thito_da_skins_fan Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by skinsfanjoe As a Celtic fan I have to look at it as after Walker left Paul Pierce hasn't been the same. Paul is not a vocal leader, Antoine was the voice and motivator of the team. A team that went to the eastern conference finals two years ago with basically only a two man team. Now add a Healthy Raef Lafrenz, a more disciplined Ricky Davis, young players Tony Allen and Al Jefferson, and if all goes well you get Gary Payton back who's averaging 12 and 6 assists to go along with Walker, Pierce and Mark Blount and I believe you have a team that has a good mix of youth and veterans to make a run. Maybe I'm looking at this through Green glasses but they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with a much weaker team two years ago and IMO this team is much better. Just my two cents. You have to understand that the entire Eastern Conference has gotten much better as well. The Celtics probably did improve with the moves they made, or will make, but does that make them better than teams already on top? That's the question. I, personally, don't think they are. We'll see soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by thito_da_skins_fan You have to understand that the entire Eastern Conference has gotten much better as well. The Celtics probably did improve with the moves they made, or will make, but does that make them better than teams already on top? That's the question. I, personally, don't think they are. We'll see soon enough. You're right. We'll find out down the stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sir Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Only 3 teams could win the Eastern Conference. The Heat, Pistons, and Sixers. That's better than out West though, they might as well just place San Antonio in the finals now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvan Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 I'm excited!!! In addition to being a Skins and Celtics fan I'm a big UK fan. GO CATS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thito_da_skins_fan Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by The Sir Only 3 teams could win the Eastern Conference. The Heat, Pistons, and Sixers. The Wizards have the same chance to win the East as any of those 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 I've been a Celtic fan since 1981. I've actually witnessed smart,solid championship Celtic basketball. My beloved Celtics will never see the finals as long as Walker is on them. His shot selection and decision making are suspect and he's not someone you want dominating the ball. Danny Ainge has thrown me for a loop with this move and I'm very disappointed in him . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by DieselPwr44 I've been a Celtic fan since 1981. I've actually witnessed smart,solid championship Celtic basketball. My beloved Celtics will never see the finals as long as Walker is on them. His shot selection and decision making are suspect and he's not someone you want dominating the ball. Danny Ainge has thrown me for a loop with this move and I'm very disappointed in him . I agree Ainge is a hard one to figure out but I credit him for coming into an organization in salary cap hell with the whole Vin Baker fiasco and with two guys with max contracts and a whole bunch of aging role players and despite the fact that they made it to the Eastern Conference finals realisticly decided that they wouldn't compete for a title unless major changes were made. The only thing good I see coming out of this Walker deal is after this year he is a Free Agent, if he helps us this year fine if not he has his walking papers and we have cap room to sign a good player. Doc Rivers hates illadvised shots, especially three pointers. It will be interesting to see how they get along. The main thing Walker brings to the table is his leadership and rebounding, two things the Celtics desparatley are in need of. Before this trade I didn't see the Celtics getting past the first round of the playoffs now IF they manage to reaquire Gary Payton I could see them getting much deeper.:2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by skinsfanjoe I agree Ainge is a hard one to figure out but I credit him for coming into an organization in salary cap hell with the whole Vin Baker fiasco and with two guys with max contracts and a whole bunch of aging role players and despite the fact that they made it to the Eastern Conference finals realisticly decided that they wouldn't compete for a title unless major changes were made. The only thing good I see coming out of this Walker deal is after this year he is a Free Agent, if he helps us this year fine if not he has his walking papers and we have cap room to sign a good player. Doc Rivers hates illadvised shots, especially three pointers. It will be interesting to see how they get along. The main thing Walker brings to the table is his leadership and rebounding, two things the Celtics desparatley are in need of. Before this trade I didn't see the Celtics getting past the first round of the playoffs now IF they manage to reaquire Gary Payton I could see them getting much deeper.:2cents: I agree. The other part I like is that Doc isn't afraid to bench anybody if they're not playing within the system. If Walker starts playing stupid, he'll sit, something O'brien never had the nerve to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Originally posted by DieselPwr44 I agree. The other part I like is that Doc isn't afraid to bench anybody if they're not playing within the system. If Walker starts playing stupid, he'll sit, something O'brien never had the nerve to do. Very true. I liked O'brien but he was too much of a coaches player. Doc benched Pierce earlier in the year and Paul pouted for a few games but finally figured out that he would get no where acting like a Diva and he's been playing great basketball ever since. I also love the job Doc has done taming Ricky Davis, a potential sixth man of the year candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 skinsfanjoe, I haven't gotten to see them play alot this year. What do you think about our rookies? I think they all look promising. I'd like to see Perkins get more time and I'd also like to see Delonte more on the floor. I hear that Delonte is starting at pg tonight. Just wish I could see the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanjoe Posted February 26, 2005 Author Share Posted February 26, 2005 Al Jefferson is going to be a star in this league, I guarantee it. Tony Allen is a great defender and can take the ball to the hole but needs to work on his jumpshot. I think he has a serious future in the league, heck he's already a starter. The coaches were very high on Delonte West but injuries have put a hamper on his season thus far. He did score 17 points yesterday against the Nuggets. Doc Rivers has no confidence in Marcus Banks so my guess is that Delonte is the point guard of the future. Banks is very talented but it hasn't clicked yet for him. I don't know if it ever will. I've been impressed with Kendrick Perkins, IMO he doesn't get enough minutes. He's a great rebounder and I think he can become a force under the basket blocking shots and has shown he's not scared to give a hard foul when he feels teams aren't respecting him. I'm glad we traded Jiri Welch. I didn't think he fit with Rivers offensive scheme, he's not very athletic but more of a set shooter. He'll do good in Cleveland thanks to Lebron drawing double and triple teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 West is "supposed" to be the future at point, he's shown flashes, but he's very raw. If they want a shot, they need Payton back IMHO. As for the trade, I was suprised and happy. T'wan and Pierce worked good together before, lets hope they can do it again. Ainge has impressed me so far, if you look at where they are now compared to where they were 2 years ago, they're younger faster and better. Either way, they could make the finals, then get crushed by San Antonio, but at least they're improving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carter23 Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 do we start calling him Employee #88? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Originally posted by carter23 do we start calling him Employee #88? :rotflmao: I saw that too, I was wondering if Jefferson would give up 8. It just looks weird, Twan in an 88 uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Originally posted by chomerics :rotflmao: I saw that too, I was wondering if Jefferson would give up 8. It just looks weird, Twan in an 88 uniform. It's an NBA rule that you can't change numbers during the season. If Walker plays his way onto the Celtics next year, he's already mentioned cutting Al Jefferson a check for #8. If he plays within himself(like he did last night), he'll be back. If he starts chucking 3's and dominating the ball, he's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.