Re: Trade Walker, Peter May Says Incorrectly

[Ryan W <ubiquitous_am_i@xxxxxxxxx>]

And it's only taken 2 days since Ainge took over to
start the "Trade Antoine" hysteria....

Well (let me be the first to say), fuck Peter May for
pulling this while the season is still in doubt (be
that doubt slim to none)....

I just hope, for the sake of these pompus asses that
are suggesting we trade Antoine, that this expolsion
of negativity will propel the team into coming
together, into attempting to make history.  Cause
that's where we are now....

As for Antoine not playing hard, or not fouling Kenyon
enough, it seems you haven't watched Walker at all for
the entirity of his career.  He's never been charged
with a flagarant foul and as far as I can remember
(and my Directv subsription coincided with Antoine's
rookie year) he has never ever been one to commit hard
fouls.  Thus, no, Antoine will not be taking out
Kenyon....though if I were Antoine, Kenyon, Jefferson,
and Kidd would be paying for their dunks and layups
with hard fouls every time....  Should Antione be
hammering Kenyon?  Yes.  But he doesn't play that
way....and in reality he really doesn't play hard all
the time either (as I alluded to in the past), which
is a reflection, I would argue, of his over-use.  From
time to time, I have heard him referring to resting on
the court, and without a doubt have witnessed such
occasions.  Thus, yes, Antione could be playing
harder, but I think he feels (and the coaching staff
as well) that occasionally resting on the court, and
playing all those minutes as defacto point guard and
power forward, is the smarter thing to do...

What this all boils down to is self-perception
deception.  The players are adept at a certain amount
of self-perception deception which serves to suggest
that they think they are better than they are...this
is necessary as it leads to self-confidence, which is
the most important non-physical aspect of basketball. 
However, when this self-perceptive deception spills
over into the coaching, then we begin to have
problems...  And this is where the problems with
O'Brien surface, because from every spoken quote, it
appears that O'Brien is collaborating in the this
self-deception, which only makes things worse (in the
eyes of the objective fan, which we all assume
ourselves--in some manner or another--to be).  But
does O'Brien really believe all that crap he spouts
(he has been portrayed as the anti-Pitino, but in
reality, he watched Pitino and learned from
him--Pitino's only mistake being that he criticized
players publically--and is simply a very subtle and
manipulative spin artist)?  I honestly doubt it, since
a coach's worth is built on his ability to identify
REAL problems and then deal with them
accordingly...though I would hazard to guess that this
thin line between pumping oneself up and looking a
reality objectively is a line that O'Brien and the
players have yet to walk firmly....and this is where
the problem lies...

What to do?  First of all, let's not instigate a
regime change that is predisposed to dealing Antoine
(at least from the aged comments from Ainge) in the
middle of Antoine's worst playoff series and against a
team that just has our number--that was pure
stupidity, though not knowing the details it is
plausible that it was unavoidable.  Second, let's
engage in some healthy introspection.  Antoine,
himself, has to rediscover what type of player he
is....the last two years he has been trying to be
EVERYTHING and that has just left him burnt out and
less than he can be.  Ainge, himself, should look at
Antoine and see a player much like himself, impetuous,
fiesty, and emotional.  (It's hard to say why Ainge
was loved by the fans and Antoine hated--they both
have the same on-court personality.  Some may say it's
racially motivated--and I would agree to a
degree--while others would say that it is a reflection
of winning--which is another valid view point). 
Furthermore, he should see what has happened the last
two years and look at the team chemistry that has
enfolded.  With Antoine and Paul, we have two great
pieces.  Continuity is important.  What this team
needs is more time, a new point guard and a
re-evaluation of what they are.  Ainge should look
into putting Antione at the three.  But, instead of
just suggesting it, he should go out and get a couple
4/5's...maybe one through the draft and one through
free agency (P.J. Brown...).  Tell Antione to work on
his running, stamina, quickness....he has worked
extremely hard over the last two summers and shouldn't
be adverse to doing so again this summer.  Tell him
that the current regime feels that he is doing too
much on the court and, in the interest of increasing
his longevity and potential on the court, they are
going to change how they use him.  Antoine can adapt. 
These charges made by Kestas and Mark that Antoine
wants to cherry pick the easiest parts of small and
power forward are idiotic to say the least.  By saying
such things, it implies that Antoine is knowingly
sacrificing the team goals for his own...which,
stemming from the last two years, seems an impossible
statement to make.  If there is something going on
there, it is unconscious and the domain of the coach
to address.  Which brings me to O'Brien.  O'Brien, as
well, must adapt.  Ainge, I'm betting, will sit down
with O'Brien this summer and tell him that the offense
must get better.  And O'Brien, as he has already shown
to be capable of doing, will adapt.  O'Brien, if
anything, has shown the ability to self-preserve...if
by placating Antoine (which is the conjecture of
Kestas and Mark) or by other means.  Thus, if Ainge
tells him to change the offense, then he will.

And what is the upshot of all this?  Well, it points
to NOT trading Antoine, at least not over the summer. 
First of all, Ainge will not trade Antoine when his
value is low.  And right now his value is low.  And it
ain't getting higher over the summer, especially if we
end up getting swept or, God-forbid, Antoine gets
suspended and we get swept.  Thus, Antoine shouldn't
be shopped, nor even discussed with other GM's. 
Instead show confidence in him and tell him to prepare
for a slight change in usage for the upcoming season. 
Tell him to prepare for small forward and pump him up
by telling him that the new offense that is being
prepared is going to maximize his talents and not rely
on him to make everything happen.  Next attempt to get
this new offense in place, starting with acquisition
of a point guard.  I don't know where from, but a
point guard can be had either through the draft or
free agency.  Regardless, we need to make a commitment
to being a running team next year....if the Indiana
series showed us anything, it's that we can run, if we
put our minds to it (which, as an aside, is what we
should have tried to do with Jersey as well).  The
only thing we lack is depth.  Antoine, contrary to
popular report, is a perfect fast breaking player and
is quite quick for his size.  If Kidd was on this
team, Antoine would be a layup making fool...  

Anyways, this is getting long.  But as for how to win
game 4....start Kedrick and hope for the best. 
Remember that Detroit didn't start to play well until
Tayshaun Prince was placed into the rotation in place
of Corliss Williamson....  And don't count out Antoine
(assuming he's not suspended).  When the world is down
on him, it only serves to motivate him...I'm just
hoping for one game where Antoine tells Martin to
shove it up his ass...

Ryan


--- Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> PRO BASKETBALL NOTES
> 
> Logical move is with Walker
> 
> But could Ainge find any takers for him?
> 
> By Peter May, Boston Globe Staff, 5/11/2003
> 
> t's Mother's Day. And my mother always told me if I
> didn't have anything
> nice to say about someone, then don't say anything
> at all. Sorry, Mom.
> It's time to take a long, hard look at Antoine
> Walker and his future in
> Boston. Then again, that's not necessarily a bad
> thing. Unfortunately,
> Walker is making it easy for his detractors with his
> unremarkable play
> in the Celtics' series against the Nets, although
> you can make a case
> that he clearly looks either hurt, burned out, or
> both. Indisputably,
> Kenyon Martin has outplayed him, badly, and, to
> Walker's credit, he has
> faced the music. And the hecklers. He has admitted
> that his play is
> hurting the team. He isn't shooting well. He isn't
> defending well. He's
> one reason -- but certainly not the only one -- why
> the Celtics are
> staring at a 3-0 hole against the defending
> conference champs.
> 
> 
> 
> Once this season ends -- and it could tomorrow night
> -- Danny Ainge must
> seriously consider moving Walker while there still
> may be something of
> value to get in return. (We know this much: The Nets
> won't offer much of
> anything beyond Brian Scalabrine. They bring out the
> absolute worst in
> Walker.) We also know this much: This Celtics team
> may have gone as far
> as it can go as currently constituted. The thinking
> all along was to
> build around Walker and Paul Pierce, but the
> foundation isn't as sturdy
> as it once was, and the role players get you only so
> far. You can't
> expect instant help from the draft at Nos. 16 and
> 20. (Look at what Nos.
> 10 and 11 got them two years ago.) There has to be a
> trade. Walker is
> the logical choice.
> 
> This is nothing personal against Walker. He clearly
> enjoys being a
> Celtic and has accepted his role as captain and
> leader. He doesn't get
> into trouble. He's respectful in the locker room.
> Over his seven years
> here, he has matured both as a person and a player.
> He does play hard,
> even if at times a bit heedlessly. He wants to win
> in the worst way and
> he has been a member of the Eastern Conference
> All-Star team in each of
> the last two seasons. He's versatile. He can
> rebound. He's a terrific
> passer. He is, according to Jim O'Brien, an
> excellent leader.
> 
> But here's something you may not have known about
> Walker. His stats in
> virtually every offensive and defensive category
> have gone down in each
> of the last three years. That usually is a red flag.
> After seven
> seasons, you want to see things going in the other
> direction. It's going
> the wrong way with Walker, and that is a signal to
> Ainge that it might
> be time to shake things up. It may be Ainge's only
> legitimate option
> because dealing Pierce is both impractical (he's a
> base-year player) and
> impolitic (he's the team's best all-around player).
> 
> Here's a brief look at Walker's offensive production
> over the last three
> years, understanding that the drop in points can be
> attributed in part
> to the emergence of Pierce as the team's go-to guy:
> 
> As you can see, the only improvement in any of these
> categories was his
> free throw percentage in '01-02. But then it went to
> a career-low this
> season. He has led the league in 3-point attempts in
> each of the last
> two seasons, a stunning statistic for a power
> forward whose 3-point
> accuracy is not even among the top 50 in the league.
> For whatever
> reason, his coach allows this to continue.
> 
> The unknown: How much value does Walker have,
> especially making the
> money he makes? He earns $13.5 million next season
> and $14.625 million
> the following season, assuming he doesn't exercise
> an escape clause
> following next year. Those are pretty big numbers,
> which likely would
> require a substantial salary back in return.
> 
> But the fact that he's got only two years left --
> the Celtics can't be
> thinking about extending him now at anything
> approaching what he's
> earning -- might make him attractive to some team.
> He can do things on
> the floor; I still marvel at his April 6 game
> against Washington in
> which he went 3 of 16 from the field but also had 10
> rebounds and 14
> assists. This past year, he was named a reserve on
> the Eastern
> Conference All-Star team, so there must be some
> coaches out there who
> think he's worth something.
> 
> OK, so where would he go? One possibility: wherever
> Michael Jordan ends
> up. Jordan likes to think of himself as one of
> Walker's hoop godfathers
> and undoubtedly would relish playing the role of
> Henry Higgins to
> Walker's Eliza Doolittle. But if Jordan ends up in
> Charlotte, that means
> there is no chance of a deal for at least two years.
> 
> It's hard to gauge what interest there is in Walker
> the player vs.
> Walker the player with the big contract. But it is
> imperative that Ainge
> look under every rock to see what Walker might bring
> in return. There
> are nights when Walker can be numbingly horrible and
> other nights when
> he'll post the quietest triple-double you'll ever
> see. He has talent
> but, as the stats show, the numbers are on the
> decline.
> 
> That means it's time to start looking. Ainge has no
> allegiance to anyone
> on this team. He is charged with making the Celtics
> better. He saw them
> Friday night. He saw New Jersey Friday night. There
> is a pretty wide gap
> there, one that isn't going to shrink unless Jason
> Kidd bolts for San
> Antonio. The Celtics have no one coming along like
> Richard Jefferson or
> Martin.
> 
> Ainge can't assume that Kidd is going to leave. He
> can only narrow that
> gap with what he has.


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