Lawrence Eagle Tribune: Practicing Risky Business Ainge

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Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Ainge practicing risky business with Walker trade 
By Michael Muldoon 
Staff Writer - Lawrence Eagle Tribune
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20031021/SP_003.htm

WALTHAM -- One man's All-Star is another man's trash. 
According to Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics executive director of basketball operations, the C's actually did quite well to swap three-time All-Star Antoine Walker and part-time starting shooting guard Tony Delk to Dallas for 6-foot-11, 27-year-old forward/center Raef LaFrentz; 6-foot-7, 23-year-old, swingman Jiri Welsch; oft-injured, over-the-hill swingman Chris Mills; and a 2004 first-round pick. 
Could they have gotten more? 
"The simple answer (dramatic pause) ... no," said Ainge last night at a team fund-raiser held at HealthPoint. 
Were people misled by Walker's numbers (20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists)? 
"The simple answer to that is yes," he said flatly. 
Ainge had better be right. As Grady Little is finding out and Ainge's predecessor Chris Wallace discovered, when you blow the career-defining decisions, your career may be brief. 
Rarely in our lifetimes has Boston witnessed an athlete who could divide the fandom right down the middle like Antoine. 
Ultimate warrior or pouty crybaby? Brilliantly versatile or maddeningly misguided? Clutch long-range bomber or one-dimensional 3-point gunner? Leader or cancer? 
Ever since he wiggled into town as the sixth pick overall in 1996, No. 8 has been a punching bag. First it was Rick Pitino, who made Walker a scapegoat for whatever ailed the franchise. Then the fans turned on him like a lynch mob. 
On more than one occasion, he was reduced to tears. But to his credit, he always defiantly soldiered on, eventually lifting the Green into back-to-back playoff berths, including a stunning run to the 2002 Eastern Conference finals which left the city giddy. 
Ainge correctly felt he had to do something bold. It just remains to be seen if this was the bold move. 
Boston took a considerable step back last year and in the offseason New Jersey (signed Alonzo Mourning), Cleveland (drafted Wunderkind LeBron James), Detroit (drafted teenage phenom Darko Milicic) and Indiana (jettisoned clueless coach Isiah Thomas for Rick Carlisle) all got much better. 
At least publicly, Celtics coach Jim O'Brien, who has been tight with Walker since he was an assistant and Antoine was an All-American for national champion Kentucky, has always been the 6-9, 245-pound forward's biggest ally. 
But Ainge insisted O'Brien and Co. were behind the move. 
"It was unanimous among the coaching staff and front office," he said. 
To be sure, Ainge never liked Walker's game, which he said more than once as an analyst for TNT before becoming Toine's boss on May 9. Apparently he wasn't the only one who believed the co-captain, though just 27, was in decline. 
"If people knew what I know, and what Antoine's market value was, they'd understand a little more," he said. "The number and production in the eyes of basketball experts in the league ... he is not as valuable as I think fans perceive." 
Ainge claims it wasn't a fire sale to get rid of a potential problem child who probably took more bad shots than any other two players in the league combined. Still, Boston was a laughingstock when Antoine came here and after considerable growing pains, he was at least 1A to Paul Pierce's No. 1 on how the franchise became relevant again. 
The FleetCenter went from The Library to The Jungle in no small part to the ironman playing point-forward. 
But he brought a lot of baggage with his pouting, inordinate number of technical fouls, horrible shooting percentages, inability to score inside and then his colossal playoff collapses the last two springs against New Jersey. 
It went from bad to worse in the 2003 playoffs when he pointed out a Boston fan in the stands who had been riding him mercilessly and had a group of family and friends go after him. 
When Ainge refused to extend his contract, it became apparent the Walker era was fast coming to an end. Reportedly, Antoine demanded a trade. 
The pressure is on Ainge and LaFrentz for the Kansas All-American -- he was considered the better NBA prospect when he was taken third and Pierce his Jayhawk teammate 10th in the 1998 Draft -- to deliver. 
In some ways, LaFrentz is Antoine Light. He prefers the deep shot although in college he boasted nifty inside moves which prompted some misguided writers (OK, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa) to liken him to Kevin McHale. 
He's owed $63 million over the next six years, so if he's a dud, Boston will be saddled with his megabucks pact and Vin Baker's. In other words, Gucci money for Building 19 production. 
LaFrentz showed considerable skill for those horrific Denver Nugget teams -- averaging 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in 31.5 minutes a game two years ago. However, the numbers dwindled to 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.3 minutes a game last year with talent-laden Dallas. 
If he could replicate the Nugget numbers, the C's would be overjoyed. If it's the Dallas figures, Boston may be in danger of not breaking 50 points a game and Paul Pierce will be playing a lot of 1-on-5. 
Walker and Delk (9.8) were Boston's second and third leading scorers in 2002-03. The next highest were aging Eric Williams and injury-prone Tony Battie at a mere 9.1 and 7.3 points per game, respectively. 
Ainge trumpets Welsch's potential, too. Maybe he knows something we don't, but Welsch did nothing for Golden State, tossing in 1.6 ppg last year as a rookie. And the first-round pick figures to be a low one, which aren't worth much in the NBA. 
Ainge is confident he made a good deal. Antoine seemed more moody than ever when Boston refused to sign him to an extension this summer. He could have been a cancer with two years to take the rest of the club down. 
Now he has a chance to win a title if he can subjugate his healthy ego and become a complementary player with the powerful Mavs. If he does and LaFrentz flops, Ainge may be the next one out of town. 
Michael Muldoon is an Eagle-Tribune sportswriter. E-mail him at mmuldoon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Trade receives mixed reviews 
Here's what some NBA insiders are writing about the Celtics trade of All-Star Antoine Walker:"They got what for Raef LaFrentz. All morning and all afternoon you waited for the punchline. But apparently it's no joke. Not unless you're a Celtics fan wondering what the heck Danny Ainge is doing." 
Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News 
... 
"You never trade your best player (or second best) for anyone other than the other team's best player (or second best). ... The Mavericks have gotten a team to violate that sacred NBA principle." 
David Aldridge, ESPN.com. 
... 
"A black cloud hovered over Walker's situation with Boston management ever since they decided not to extend his contract. ... It looks like Boston has come out fairly well in the deal. ... The Celtics not only picked up some talent, they also added to team unity. .. Overall, (LaFrentz) is a better fit for the structure of this team." 
Dr. Jack Ramsay, ESPN.com 
... 
"This trade is fraught with peril for both teams. The Mavs get an All-Star in Walker, but playing time issues in the frontcourt could threaten team chemistry. ... The Celtics, meanwhile, suddenly look like a one-man team with Paul Pierce as the Lone Ranger. The question is could they have acquired more for a three-time All-Star." 
SI.com