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RE: Huh?

At 12:54 PM 11/18/2003, Jim Hill wrote in response to Cecil saying: 
"With that in mind, I agree with whomever it was who said that we should
give a minimum of 20 mpg to Banks....
I was talking to Jim Meninno at the Fours prior to the game on Friday night
and we were discussing the timing of the Walker trade.  I understand why
they pulled the trigger but I still wish they had waited a bit more to see
how the dynamics would have worked between Pierce, Walker and a healthy,
rejuvenated Baker.  Last year, Walker was the guy who was trying to get the
ball to Baker.  There was no reason to believe he would have ignored him
this season.  If he was here, would Paul be trying to be superman right now?
I don't know.

However, we must move on and play the cards we've been dealt.

Cecil "

Cecil,  I think the Walker trade had as much to do about his next contract
as anything else.  I would have liked to see him at the 3 for a few months
out there with Baker/Pierce/Banks myself.  I don't think OB would play him
there though.

That said, I don't think Walker would have taken anything less then Max
money/extension, gracefully.  That made it a no brainer to find a trade,
IMO.

You know what, I agree on the problem with the extension (and don't forget the increasing reports that he was developing new attitude problems because of the initial refusal), but I still don't think the deal was about that as much as anything. I think the biggest factor was the impossiblity of real change with him here and his interference with the development of others. And the one thing Danny was certain of was that change was needed, or else why was he even here?

Don't get me wrong, there are things I like about Antoine and I don't think he intentionally sets out to be evil Antoine. But he had a fixed idea of his role with the Celtics that wasn't going to really change, mostly because he'd had a little power center here for too long that was a big part of that idea. Pierce may be the scorer, but this has been Antoine's team since he arrived. Walker's start in the NBA was as ML Carr's favorite son, encouraged to do whatever makes him happy, followed by engineering a successful revolt to overthrow Pitino (who deserved it, don't get me wrong), and Obie making a deal with the devil with him so the same thing didn't happen to himself. You think Walker believed in his soul this team revolved around any new boss or any of his plans? Even the usually discreet Walker's public comments said otherwise.

As to Walker trying to get the ball to Baker - EVERYONE tried to. Antoine just had his hands on the ball more often controlling the offense. And while Baker created his own problems, one of my criticisms of Walker and passing in general is that while he may see plays others don't, he has never gone out of his way to make best pass for the recipient vs just zipping it in regardless or even going for unnecessary style points. In other words, "unselfish" - but on his terms, not yours. The Baker of this season is more comparable to Pierce's arrival as an opposing offensive force, and while Antoine was initially happy to be nothing but a distributor with Pierce, he unsurprisingly settled right back into "yeah, that's fun, but I've got to get mine too and you will see the ball on my terms". Back to development - what's the point of giving Marcus 20 minutes a game (trust a Vegas kid to pick a forum like Madison Square for his breakout game - GOOD for him <g>) if he spends most of them fighting a losing battle with Walker for control of the ball and of the team on top of the inherent problems adjusting to being a rookie PG in the NBA. And go right down the line to all the other players we now have intentionally because their best game takes advantage of their athleticism in the open court and try to picture Walker not being a problem trying to develop that game. And that's before you get into the issue of minutes and his attitude if he doesn't play as much as HE thinks he should, even if it means someone else doesn't get the minutes they need to grow. Etc, etc. you get the idea. I like Antoine, but I really think the deal was the best thing for both sides. He's smart enough that I have real hopes it might provide him with the best opportunity to get out of his rut without his feeling doing so is giving in to his critics, while freeing the Cs to get out of theirs.

Yeah, the extension was obviously a factor, especially with Walker's reportedly increasingly soured attitude over it, but I actually don't think it was the biggest one in Ainge's eyes.

And BTW, for all the talk of that last shot by Pierce last night , the game was really lost on the boards well before that. That shot should have been a non-issue.
Kim