Walker rumors

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Now there are additional rumors involving Walker going to Indiana.
The only players that I could see interesting the Celtics as principals
in the exchange would be Jalen Rose, Dale Davis, and Jonathan Bender.
It was reported that the Celtics were interested in Bender during the
draft. Here is Chris Wallace's commentary on Bender:
  "An intriguing prospect because of his combination of athleticism and 
   offensive skills. The big question with any player who enters the NBA 
   at such a young age is, 'How long will it take for him to learn the NBA 
   game and mature physically enough.'" 
It seems completely contrary to the idea of getting older, but Bender has
drawn comparisons to Kevin Garnett who was an impact player in his second
year out of high school. So it's possible that the Celtics could go for it.
And if Davis and/or Rose are included, the Celtics do get some experience
in return.

The thing is, supposedly the Celtics could have gotten Antonio Davis (and
a first rounder) with Antoine Walker which means that getting Bender for 
Walker should have been possible. So I doubt the Celtics do that deal 
straight up; instead, they probably get Jalen Rose also, at least. Rose 
showed some impressive skills during the playoffs, especially in his ability 
to create his own offense. He's not a talent on the order of Walker though.

I wouldn't be in favor of the trade, though admittedly I know almost nothing
about Bender. Of course if he's really the second coming of KG then go for
it. But I find that pretty unlikely.

Alex