Holley: "Walker Hung Out to Dry"

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Holley doesn't say so explicitly, but it seems like Pitino is spinning
the Boston public in order to consummate a trade of Antoine Walker for
what many would perceive as less-than-fair value, just as he tried to do
by bashing Ron Mercer last month (before he apparently changed his mind
about going in that direction).

******

"Walker hung out to dry...
So it's time for Pitino to come clean with star"

 By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 07/08/99

Bill Parcells taught us all about cuisine logic, how you have to buy
your own groceries and cook your own food. He didn't mention anything
about cleaning up. Well, guess whose turn it is to wash the dirty
dishes? Rick Pitino's.

Maybe Pitino is surprised to hear this. Maybe he is not the source of an
inaccurate story that appeared in the Herald last week. It doesn't
matter. Pitino is the president. He's the coach. He's the one with his
face on the media guide. He's the one with the longest contract in the
organization. He is not only The Man, he is also The Man Players See
When They Think of The Celtics. This is very important.

Here are the rubber gloves, Rick.

According to the report, Antoine Walker recently fired his personal
trainer,  blew off a session with the team's strength coach, and, to
conclude his streak of rebellion, picked up some extra pounds. Words
such as ''exasperated'' were used to describe the feelings of some in
the organization toward the 22-year-old forward.

Truth is, Walker has not fired his physical therapist nor his personal
trainer.  As for Celtics strength coach Shaun Brown, he and Walker have
worked  out together at least twice since the end of the season, the
last session  coming two days before the draft. Pitino worked out Walker
himself the day  before the draft. The ''missed'' session was actually a
schedule mismatch between Brown and Walker. Brown got one day with
Walker in Chicago; he wanted two. And the extra weight?

''I saw him in Las Vegas two weeks ago,'' Mike Higgins said yesterday.
''He  looked fine.''

Higgins is Walker's agent. He is unhappy. Unhappy with the newspaper?
No. That's not how it works. He has a problem with the Celtics.

''I think it's very petty on their part,'' Higgins said. ''This is high
school stuff. You know where stuff like this comes from; it comes from
the organization.   It's so petty. Antoine doesn't live in Boston, but
he has been out there three or four times. I think he has done a good
job with his workouts.

''I don't understand what the fuss is about. I deal with about 60
players, and I can count on one hand how many of them are working out
now. Some organizations try to keep things within when a player is doing
something wrong. Here, Antoine didn't do anything wrong - he `misses' a
workout and they don't like it - and stuff is coming out. This is small,
high school stuff.''

Pitino did not return a phone call yesterday. But at this point, he
shouldn't worry about that. He needs to call the agent. And not for the
reason that  some might think. He doesn't need to call to soothe the
feelings of Walker. He needs to call because of his own agenda.

The NBA is a gossipy land, a land where players incessantly talk and
compare notes. You heard Higgins, right? He represents 60 players. They
don't simply sit around and talk about contracts and endorsements all
day. They're like the rest of us in that they talk about births, family
reunions, office politics, and maddening bosses.

These players have already spoken about the day in April when Pitino
left Kenny Anderson home from a road trip in a disciplinary move. They
have already talked about the way Pitino operates on the sidelines,
barking out the most basic instructions the entire night. The most
recent draft ended just  over a week ago, but there is already a rumor
floating among the players that Pitino promised Mission Hill's Wayne
Turner he would draft him with the 55th pick ... then selected Kris
Clack of Texas. And now this.

Now, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and tell you what I don't
like about Walker. He should be at least a 75-percent free throw
shooter. He should get no more than seven technical fouls in a season.
He should never, ever refer to another official as ''Ref'' (I still
think eight-week Celtic Chris Mills had the best idea of any NBA
player--learning each official's name during one offseason). He should
never have fewer than three offensive rebounds in a game. He is a
terrific passer - I once saw him throw a behind-the-back bounce pass
from midcourt for an assist - so he should always have three or four
assists next to his name.

But if I were him, I'd be disgusted with the Celtics right now. Two days
before the June 30 draft, he came to Boston to participate in a ''Heroes
Among Us'' ceremony at the State House (Pitino was not there). The next
day, he worked out with the coach. He later confirmed that, yes, he
would play in the team's summer league, something rarely seen of a
fourth-year player with a $71 million contract.

 So, what does he get for all that? An organization-generated false
story and whispers that the team would like to do a sign-and-trade with
free agent Vin Baker. If the Celtics do want Baker over Walker, I hope
they have done their homework. Current NBA rules state that although
Walker will make $9 million next season, the most the Celtics can take
back in a trade for him is $5.275 million. If Baker is re-signed by the
Sonics, his contract would be similar to Walker's. In other words, they
cannot be traded for each other unless another team gets involved.

 But Pitino shouldn't be worried about Baker or anyone else not
currently on  Merrimac Street. When he meets with Ron Mercer today, he
should figure out a way to sign him. After that, he should call Higgins
and make things right.

Here are the suds and warm water, Rick.