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WALKER



For those of you who didn't see it, this article appeared in today's
Boston Globe.
Dorine

PRO BASKETBALL
              Walker on the outs before lockout

              Captain passes up Celtics' OT session

              By Peter May, Globe Staff, 07/05/98

              A week before the lockout, the Celtics asked their players
to
              come into town for workouts. Rick Pitino even hired a
              shooting instructor. Not a bad idea for a team that shot
43.4
              percent, 25th in the NBA.

              Almost everyone showed up. Ron Mercer was excused and
              Dana Barros, well, the last thing he needs is to work on
his
              shooting. But Pervis Ellison attended the session, which
also
              included weight and conditioning work.

              Antoine Walker did not attend, which again called into
              question his future in Boston, if for no other reason than
his
              coach is not pleased about it, and this isn't the first
time
              Walker has declined to attend a Pitino-initiated voluntary

              summer event.

              ''Antoine is not the easiest guy to deal with [in the
              offseason],'' said Pitino. ''Am I upset? No, not really.
Am I
              disappointed? Yes, I am. On one hand, he's been with me so

              long now that he knows what I want. But on the other hand,

              he's the captain of this team, and if you're the captain,
you
              should be at these kinds of things and lead by example. We

              invited him to come. He didn't come.''

              We all know Walker could have benefited from extra
              shooting time with the instructor, having shot 42.3
percent
              from the field and 64.5 percent from the line. But, for
              whatever reason, he decided instead to go to Vancouver for

              the NBA draft, where he comforted former Kentucky
              teammate Nazr Mohammed, a projected top 15 pick who
              tumbled all the way to 29. It was then discovered that
Walker
              was upset at the Celtics for passing on Mohammed.

              ''He's not doing himself any good being out in Vancouver
              with Nazr,'' Pitino said. ''He's the captain of this team
and I'd
              have liked for him to be there.''

              Walker's agent, David Falk, did not return a phone call
              inquiring why his client did not show up. However, it was
              well known by then that the Celtics were shopping Walker,
              including an offer to the Warriors in a multiplayer deal.

              This isn't the first time Walker passed up voluntary work.
He
              also passed up an invitation to Pitino's inaugural rookie
camp
              last summer. Teams cannot force players to participate in
              summer events. The season is long enough as it is, which
              may well have been Walker's belief. He hasn't missed a
game
              in two years.

              But it also says something about the dynamics at work
here.
              Before the draft, Pitino told the Globe that he was ''90
              percent'' certain he could re-sign Walker. (Most of us
took
              that to mean 50/50.) No one knows what the new rules are
              going to be, but this situation may already be beyond
rules,
              regulations, and percentages.