from the horse's mouth. . .

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

Rick says all the right things. 

Scariest part of this article is the notion that internet rumors even merit
mention, never mind attention. . .


>>Pitino runs from Walker rumors 

                  By Peter May, Globe Staff, 2/1/2000 

                       ALTHAM - The trading deadline is still more than
three weeks
                       away, but that hasn't stopped Antoine Walker's name
from
                  popping up in rumors.

                  An NBA general manager told the Globe that the Celtics
fluctuate when
                  Walker's name comes up for discussion. A GM told Sports
Illustrated
                  that the Celtics are trying to ''give away'' their
captain.

                  Yesterday, an intriguing rumor popped up on the Internet:
The Celtics
                  would send Walker to Chicago for a No. 1 pick; the Pacers
would send
                  Jalen Rose to Boston and acquire Toni Kukoc from Chicago.
It's even
                  cap-friendly.

                  So, what about it, Rick Pitino?

                  ''Antoine Walker will not be traded unless Michael Jordan
considers to
                  come back. Then, I would consider it,'' said the Celtics
coach before
                  flying out to Indiana for tonight's game with the Pacers.

                  ''All these rumors about Antoine Walker are false,
[coming from] people
                  who don't understand the salary cap,'' Pitino said.
''And, more important,
                  he's playing exactly the way I want him to play now. So,
I didn't go
                  through all these pains, from Kentucky on, to finally
start to get him that
                  way, and then trade him away.

                  ''If he wasn't progressing the way we hoped, that'd be a
different
                  situation. But it's totally opposite.''

                  The coach said Walker wants to remain a Celtic.

                  ''We're not interested in retarding our growth,'' said
Pitino. ''That's what
                  that trade would do. We want to be patient. But we also
want to win. If
                  we let Antoine Walker go for a first-round draft pick,
all we're doing is
                  making excuses. We don't want to do that. We want to
stick with what
                  we have right now and build on that.''

                  There you have it. The trading deadline is 6 p.m., EST,
Feb. 24.

                  Asked whom he voted for as Eastern Conference All-Star
reserves,
                  Pitino said, ''None of your business'' (in a good-natured
way, of course.)
                  ''It's a secret ballot.'' He said he wasn't wasting any
brain cells on the
                  game or the voting. Paul Pierce, the Celtic most likely
to make it, said, ''I
                  feel like I'm one of the better players in the Eastern
Conference. But,
                  whether I'm having an All-Star year or not, it really
doesn't matter right
                  now. It's what happens with this team right now. If I
make it, that's fine. I'll
                  be happy. But my main interest right now is winning
ballgames and
                  making sure the team does well.'' Pierce did say that he
thought players
                  on better teams should have the edge ... Pitino said the
team is as close
                  to 100 percent healthy as it has been all year. He said
Pierce ''looks like
                  he's back'' from ankle and hamstring injuries. Pierce
concurred.
                  ''Everything is pretty much up to par,'' he said. ''Right
now is as healthy
                  as I've been since the start of the season.'' ... Pitino
did say Adrian Griffin
                  still is somewhat limited by his ankle. Griffin will
chase Reggie Miller
                  around Conseco Fieldhouse tonight ... The Pacers have not
played
                  since Saturday, so they, too, have had prep time for this
one. Indiana is
                  looking at this one as another payback game, having lost
last time to the
                  Celtics. The Pacers are 6-0 this season in such
situations ... Pitino said
                  he's particularly worried about Indiana's 3-point
shooting and the Pacers'
                  home-court advantage. ''The three ball can hurt you
because they shoot
                  it with so many different players,'' he said. Indiana is
fifth in the league in
                  3-point shooting percentage and, at 18-2, has the best
home record in
                  the East. A bigger concern: You have the team (Boston)
that is 28th in
                  fouls (only Cleveland commits more) and the NBA's top
free throw
                  shooting team (Indiana, at 81.4 percent). The Celtics, by
the way, have
                  had the two best free throw shooting teams in NBA
history. The 1989-90
                  team shot 83.2 percent and the 1988-89 team shot 82.4
percent ... Pitino
                  said he likes his standard starting five from an
offensive standpoint.
                  ''That lineup, staying together for three or four years,
will be extremely
                  potent,'' he said. He added that Walker is getting better
defensively, too.
                  ''When the day comes where Paul and Antoine are our two
best
                  defensive players, as well as being our two best
offensive players, I think
                  that's when we'll have arrived as a basketball team,'' he
said.

                  This story ran on page C03 of the Boston Globe on
2/1/2000. <<