Pitino Pissed Off At Walker: Jersey Red's Killer Column: Very Good Stuff Seriously

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Jersey Red comes through with an excellent, well written column.
Walker out of shape, C's interested in Baker...



      Wed, Jul 07, 1999 
      RED'S WORLD: They'll be plenty of deals in wake of NBA draft 
      By KEN 'JERSEY RED' FORD 
      I suppose now that the NBA draft is over you think that's that. The simple 
      fact of the matter is there will be a lot of wheeling and dealing by many 
      of the teams, including the Celtics.
      Even as you read this, the Celts are holding a mini camp in their brand 
      spanking new facility in Waltham. Most of the C's who played last year are 
      there, plus a slew of free agents, all working out under the scrutiny of a 
      man who is bound and determined to make the NBA playoffs next year.
      When the camp ends on Friday, he and his staff and several of the players 
      and yours truly will head out to La La Land for nine days to participate 
      in the highly competitive California summer league games, where there will 
      be more free agents and a lot of present NBA players who just could be 
      changing zip codes come Aug. 1. 
      That's the day that teams can start making moves during the month of July. 

      Every team is allowed to have one person talk to the free agents and other 
      teams concerning possible moves. In the Celtics' case, that person is GM 
      Chris Wallace, and he has received his marching orders from Pitino. 
      Everyone is under the assumption that Ron Mercer and Kenny Anderson are 
      the most viable trade bait and that Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker are 
      untouchable. Well, Pierce is safe. And while I never thought I'd be 
      writing this, Walker just MIGHT be working for another company next year. 
      If the Celtics acquire who they are seeking, the complexion of the team 
      will change dramatically, hopefully for the better. 
      I'm on record for saying and writing that Antoine is my guy. I really do 
      like him and have since he first came to play for Pitino at Kentucky. I 
      believe he will be one of the upper echelon players in the NBA, but I also 
      understand the other part of the Walker saga. 
      For whatever reason, he is not a fan favorite in Boston. He has been booed 
      unmercifully, his "wiggle" drives everyone crazy and he is not a media 
      favorite. But those things don't concern Pitino. What concerns him is that 
      Walker came into Boston after the lockout "fat," as in totally out of 
      shape, and was a major reason the Celtics went into an early tailspin that 
      they never recovered from in an abbreviated season. 
      While publicly Pitino shielded Antoine from the attacks, inside he was 
      seething and hurt. For the life of him, Rick could not understand how the 
      captain of his squad, a youngster who knew from his days at Kentucky the 
      importance of staying in shape, could do this. As the season wore on and 
      things got ugly, Pitino still protected his player. And when the boos 
      directed at Antoine hit their zenith, Rick lashed out at everyone, saying 
      that he could understand the fans being angry but at the same time 
      pointing out how much they were affecting the team and Walker in 
      particular.
      When the season from hell finally came to an end, Pitino openly said was 
      the worst one in all his years of coaching and guaranteed that his Celtics 
      would make the playoffs next year.
      Rick met with each player and told them what he expected of them during 
      the off-season, and that unlike last year when all contact with players 
      was forbidden during the lockout, Rick would monitor what shape they were 
      in. 
      Strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown will travel across the country 
      visiting the players to see if they were pumping iron, playing hoop, etc. 
      Several weeks ago, Brown flew to Chicago to take a peek at Walker, who was 
      scheduled to work out under the direction of a personal trainer that 
      Walker had hired. Antoine was a no-show, and when Brown reported this to 
      Pitino, he was outraged. If Walker had a private matter and couldn't be 
      there, he could have at least shown the courtesy of making a phone call. 
      Then, last week, 'Twoine flew into Boston for a P.R. event and found his 
      way over to Waltham. Pitino eyeballed him and did not like what he saw. 
      Loyalty is Pitino's credo, but it's a two-way street. If this were 
      Kentucky, Pitino could scare the bejeebers out of 'Twoine. But this is the 
      NBA and players from time to time get what is commonly known as an "NBA 
      attitude." Sadly, this seems to be the case with Walker. 
      Well, that attitude could have Antoine hitting the altitude, as in flying 
      right out of Boston. That being said, there's a lot of time between now 
      and August. Perhaps Walker will wake up to the reality that he is just an 
      employee and, like everyone who holds a job, sooner or later he has to 
      answer to his boss.
      From a personal standpoint, the only thing I will add to this as a person 
      who truly likes Antoine is that he is not a bad person. To the contrary. 
      He's a damn nice kid and I will always root for him. 
      I'd just much prefer to be rooting for him as a Celtic. In the event 
      'Twoine does go, just who would possibly be the next employee? You might 
      pick one of these: the Butcher "the Baker" or the candlestick maker.
      ***
      Now you know why The Herald News gives me the big bucks? Believe or not, 
      my pre-draft analysis was better than all of the ones I read or saw on the 
      tube this season. 
      Either I'm the best or I got lucky. If you chose the former, you're right! 
      So who was hot and who was not? Let's have a look see:
      Hot
      Chicago: Despite making a huge mistake by not taking Lamar Odom. The Bulls 
      were raging as they acquired Elton Brand and a guy I think will be a stud 
      in Ron Artest. 
      I'm hearing the real reason they took Brand first is because his agent 
      promised Jerry Krause that if they did, the agent would hook him up with a 
      big-time free agent. If that's the case, and the Bulls also having two 
      first-round picks next year, look for them to get real good, real fast.
      Minnesota: Ex-Celtic Kevin McHale just might have a little Jerry West in 
      him when comes to wheeling and dealing. Getting Wally Szczerbiak and 
      William Avery was a coup, but how he managed to snare Louis Bullock at No. 
      42 is a stroke of genius. The Timberwolves did very well, although I'm on 
      record for saying that Chris Herren is a better player than Avery.
      Washington: Richard Hamilton of UConn will play right away and make this 
      team significantly better.
      Toronto: Giving away the high school kid Jonathan Bender to Indiana for 
      Antonio Davis was smart. The Raptors were on the cusp of making the 
      playoffs last year and this move means they intend to make this year. 
      Don't forget, they also have the second-best player in basketball in Vince 
      Carter. Who's No. 1: Shhh! Shhh! Don't tell anyone -- it's Tim Duncan.
      Denver: Hmmm. Interesting. Very interesting. They take 6-8 James Posey of 
      Xavier, a bona fide stud. And at No. 33 they pull off a humdinger by 
      getting a kid from Fall River named Chris Herren, who is better than Jason 
      Terry, who went at No. 10, better than Corey Magetti, who went at 13 and 
      will be traded, and better than William Avery, who went at 14. 
      I'm telling you right now that this Herren kid will be better than those 
      guys. Denver thinks so, too. I'm hearing they are giving him a two-year 
      guaranteed contract. They don't have to do that. And there are no gifts in 
      the cruel business side of the NBA. So that should tell all of you 
      doubters of Herren a thing or two.
      Not Hot
      Atlanta: They have more guards than the president.
      Vancouver: The head guy of the organization is a friend of mine and I 
      can't believe that Stu Jackson did not take Lamar Odom, opting instead for 
      a brat who doesn't want to play there in 6-2 guard Steve Francis.
      NY Knicks: Even though I had this one right, the Knicks goofed by taking 
      Fred Weiss of France. There were too many very good players still on the 
      board when they picked him.
      Indiana: This team, which I think will soon be birdless on the sidelines, 
      shocked me by taking Bender, the highly touted high school player, in a 
      trade with Toronto. All indications point to Bender being a good one in 
      about four to five years, but right now he is raw and Olive Oil weighs 
      more than he does. 
      Then they take Vontego Cummings at No. 26, only to trade him away. Chris 
      Mullin is old, ditto Mark Jackson, and Reggie Miller did not show up in 
      the playoffs. After this draft, they just might not make the playoffs next 
      year.
      The Celtics: I told you they would not do anything on draft night. And 
      surprise, surprise, they didn't. I also told you that they would probably 
      go after Kentucky's Wayne Turner at No. 55, but to their surprise Kris 
      Clack of Texas was still on the board. Some people had him going late in 
      the first round or at the very least early in the second, so they had to 
      take him. 
      Will he make the team? I don't know yet, but I'm going to see a lot of him 
      this week at the Celtics mini camp and next week when he plays for the 
      Celts in the California Summer League, where Pitino actually gets to coach 
      him.
      Wayne Turner will also be at both places as a free agent. 
      As for the Celtics giving up the No. 8 pick for Vitaly Potapenko, 
      Cleveland acquired an apparently good player in Utah guard Andre Miller. 
      But for now let's take a look at the eighth pick in the 90s:
      1990 -- Bo Kimble (Bo was bad, as in awful); 1991 -- Mark Macon (Macon was 
      not the "Bacon"); 1992 -- Todd Day (Day didn't bring the hay); 1993 -- Vin 
      Baker (Baker wasn't a "faker"; I like him a lot); 1994 -- Brian Grant (I 
      wish he would be granted to the Celtics. He's great!); 1995 -- Shawn 
      Respert (He just wasn't desperate); 1996 -- Kerry Kittles (Kittles has 
      shown littles); 1997 - Adoynal Foyle (Foiled again); 1998 -- Larry Hughes 
      (Again at 8, you lose with Hughes).
      With the exception of Grant and possibly Baker, No. 8 has not been great, 
      so the Celts just might have known what they were doing. We'll see. 
      As for me, I'm off to California. I refuse to be anywhere near Boston, 
      where everyone will be making fools out of themselves because the All-Star 
      game is at Fenway with all of its tradition. What a joke -- tradition! 
      Talking about eights -- the Red Sox have not won a World Series in 81 
      years. That's not my idea of tradition.
      (Ken "Jersey Red" Ford writes a weekly column for The Herald News.)


   
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