``I look at Antoine Walker and see great things...Danny Ainge looks at him and sees warts"

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Walker under review: League sizes up big deal
By Steve Bulpett
Sunday, October 26, 2003

A Sunday morning sampling of reaction to the Antoine Walker [news] trade from
around the league:

      There was joy in Orlando, where Walker always seemed to present a nasty
matchup question for the Magic. 'Toine averaged 19.3 points against Orlando
last season (a high of 28) and 24.5 the year before.

     ``I certainly wasn't disappointed by it,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``Put
it this way: It wasn't the worst day of my life seeing him go.''

      The Mavericks have much reshaping to do after the move - even more than
the Celtics. Dallas now has five guys who combined to average 101 points a
game last season, but it also has five guys who averaged 87.3 shots - and the
Mavs as a team averaged just 85.1.

     Chief chemist and coach Don Nelson admitted, ``We're just in disarray at
this particular time, but I guess that's to be expected.''

     Asked if it was a fait accompli that the club would come out slowly in
terms of wins while things were getting settled, Nelson said, ``We're
certainly not thinking that way, but I'll have to play my top eight guys a lot
of minutes to get us through it. But if that's what it takes, that's what
we'll do.''

     Nellie's son Donnie, assistant coach and personnel man, checked in with
Michael Finley before supporting the trade.

     ``I talked with Michael, who has known Antoine very well from their
Chicago days,'' Nelson the younger said. ``Antoine's all about winning. Let's
face it, in Boston they needed him to do everything. If Antoine and Paul
(Pierce) don't put up major numbers, those guys just don't win. That's not our
problem here. We got points to go around. Winners win. They find a way.''

      Out in Utah, the Jazz couldn't seem to get over Walker's 3-point stats
from last year.

     ``That new guy took 582 3-pointers last year,'' Greg Ostertag said.
``That's more than our whole team took last year.''

     (Not quite. The Jazz took 641.)

     ``He shot 582?'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. ``And the coach is still
living? That coach is still alive?''

     Jim O'Brien is doing just fine, thank you. And so is Big Nellie in
Dallas.

     ``That's the beauty of life,'' Nelson said. ``I look at Antoine Walker
and I see great things. It could be something really special. Danny Ainge
looks at him and sees warts. And I was probably the same way with Raef
(LaFrentz).''

      Sacramento looked on with great interest as one of their main rivals in
the West made a major move.

     ``Wow,'' Kings guard Doug Christie said, ``that's a lot of offense. They
haven't added any defense, but that's not where they're known for. They were
close last year outscoring people, so I think they're thinking this might put
them over the top.''

     Analyzed coach Rick Adelman: ``I think it all depends on how (Walker)
comes in and how he plays. I don't think he's going to score 20 points a game
there if he wants to fit in with them, but he definitely gives them some
options. He can play the center, he can pass it, he can bring it up, he can
create things for people. When you make a deal like that, it all depends on
how the guy approaches it and how he wants to fit in. But they certainly have
a lot of different ways to go with the type of lineup they can play.

     ``Dallas feels that they have a window and they want to do everything
they can to compete for a championship. They've done a great job.''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx