Celtics stand pat, Mavs get headache

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-ira26oct26,0,7264436.column?coll=sfla-sports-heat

Celtics stand pat, Mavs get headache
Published October 26, 2003
Ira Winderman


He stands as the quintessential box-score player -- points, rebounds and assists neatly filling the columns.

The trouble with Antoine Walker is what you see when you watch him in person -- the ill-advised 3-point attempts, the blown layups, the inability to run the break and the disinterest in battling beneath the boards.

That was the essence of last week's deal that sent Walker from Boston to Dallas. The forward now is out of sight, so Danny Ainge won't have to go out of his mind.

Debate, if you want, that Walker and Tony Delk were worth more than the package of Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills and a first-round pick. Ainge, in his new role as the Celtics' chief of operations, only wished that were the case.

"I talked to every team in the league," Ainge said in a radio interview, "and, believe me, there are people out there who, even if he averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor, would not want him on their team."

The way today's NBA works is you first shop an overpriced player in hopes of fetching something equitable in return -- then you sell him off to Mark Cuban.

Juwan Howard, Nick Van Exel and Antawn Jamison stand as previous prime examples. The Mavericks, ultimately, only were bidding against themselves.

So where does the deal leave Boston? Not in much different shape than it already was. The Celtics still lack an inside force and a point guard and still will need 30 points a night from Paul Pierce to compete. But don't be surprised if LaFrentz, Eric Williams and Walter McCarty provide, as a group, what Walker provided alone.

"I believe we're a better rebounding team, a better shooting team and a better defensive team," Ainge said.

The deal also drops the Celtics' payroll from $57 million to $51 million next summer, allowing Boston to spend the mid-level salary-cap exception without concern of triggering the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax.

As for Dallas? Same as it ever was, even with just six players remaining from the squad that went to last season's Western Conference finals. Little muscle. An undersized post game. Don Nelson likely to confound opponents to the tune of 60 wins and then steal a playoff series or two.

And perhaps, along the way, Walker will truly learn how to play as a teammate. Ultimately, that would make him the biggest winner in the deal.

BARKLEY'S BITE

Charles Barkley's take on the Walker deal was typically to the point. "They might win that street-ball tour going around," he said. "But they should've learned by now, you can't win an NBA championship trying to outscore somebody." ...

Among the losers in the Walker deal could be former Heat point guard Travis Best, who now has competition from Delk for minutes behind Steve Nash. With Walker at point forward, Best could fall out of Dallas' nine-man rotation. ... 

With Tony Parker limited by a sprained left ankle, it appears former Heat point guard Anthony Carter will be San Antonio's opening-night starter. Carter has impressed the Spurs with a 5-to-1 preseason assists-to-turnovers ratio. "It's helped to have him out there," center Tim Duncan said. ... 

In Boston, Jim O'Brien has tabbed Mike James as the Celtics' starting point guard. James' debut will come against his former team, when the Heat visits the FleetCenter on Wednesday night. O'Brien said two years under Pat Riley gave James the advantage over first-round pick Marcus Banks in the Celtics' defensive system.