Departing captain saluted

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Departing captain saluted
Spotlight grows hotter on Pierce
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 10/21/2003

WALTHAM -- Paul Pierce certainly did not present himself as the player now
carrying the future of the Celtics franchise. He walked into the Hall of Fame
room at the Celtics' training facility yesterday, taken aback by the reporters
seeking his reaction to the Antoine Walker trade. But Pierce will have to get
used to the added attention, because, for now, the Celtics are a one-superstar
team.

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"I've got mixed emotions about it," said Pierce. "For one, I lost a good
teammate, somebody who helped build up this organization. But I also lost a
friend. Just like I told the guys in the locker room, that's the nature of the
business. You can't come in today and mourn about what happened this morning.
As we try to move forward and build for the future, we trust in one another,
we trust in the management, we trust in the coaches that eventually everything
will work out."

In general, Walker's former teammates were surprised by the news. Coach Jim
O'Brien met with each player individually before practice in the morning,
informing them of the deal. While the players publicly put a positive spin on
the deal, it was clear the departure of the cocaptain left at least a
temporary void.

"It's shocking to hear news like that, but it's a part of the business
sometimes," said Tony Battie. "I'm going to miss his trash talking. He gets
you fired up. He was a great leader for us while he was here. He got to play
his first seven years with the Celtics. I'll just miss his big head around the
locker room. Everything. You develop a camaraderie with these guys because
you're with them so much during the duration of the season. You form somewhat
of a brotherly bond with these guys."

Eric Williams had the closest bond with Walker. They were friends, teammates,
and business partners.

"We were on the phone till, like, 2 o'clock in the morning last night and we
reflected a lot," said Williams. "He was here when I got traded. Now, it's
funny how I'm here and he was traded. We're always going to be there for each
other one way or another.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for us, at the same time, as players. Now,
we're totally written off. It's a tremendous opportunity for us a team and
it's a tremendous lesson for the young players to understand. Cherish the time
that you're here. Put everything you can on the court. Those are some of the
lessons I try to get from it. As far as understanding it, I can't because I
don't know what's next."

Asked about the timing -- with the season starting next week -- Williams
added, "When is the right timing? The players that remain with the Celtics and
the new arrivals will have to adjust to different roles, no one more so than
Pierce. He will be saddled with more responsibilities on and off the court."

"It definitely puts all the focus on me," said Pierce. "But I think with the
talent that we have around here, the number of guys stepping up this year,
we're going to be fine. I think we have a number of talented players whose
games are just going to have to open up a little bit more this year.

"And we can really see what everybody's made of and what everybody's all
about."

The Celtics' remaining captain wants to make sure the trade does not become a
distraction, especially with the season so close at hand.

"When you try to mold two new guys [Raef LaFrentz and Jiri Welsch] into the
system that haven't been here, it's going to take some time," said Pierce.
"We're going to have to be able to work with these new guys. Now, we have to
accept them as teammates. The two guys have good basketball minds. So I think
the adjustment will come a little bit faster for these guys."

It remains to be seen how quickly the rest of the Celtics will adjust.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx