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Jackie MacMullan: Walker Here To Stay; Mercer Severing Celtics Ties
CNNSI
Posted 4/20/99
No Respect
Antoine Walker can't get a break in Boston
By Jackie MacMullan
It was a high-percentage, routine jumper from the foul line. Too bad
Boston forward Antoine Walker missed it. As soon as the ball rolled off
the rim, the FleetCenter crowd began booing the Celtics' captain. The game
against Atlanta on April 14 was less than a minute old, yet already the
fans wanted blood, and it was clear whose they wanted.
Before the Hawks put the finishing touches on a 77-70 win, the so-called
home crowd was hooting Walker every time he touched the ball. In that
atmosphere Walker, a third-year player out of Kentucky, produced one of
the worst lines of his career: six points on 3-of-12 shooting with four
rebounds and one assist. "I guess I'm not the kind of player these fans
want," he said, near tears, following the loss.
Two nights later, on the same parquet floor, Walker banked in a difficult
three-pointer with .7 of a second to play, propelling the Celtics to an
82-81 win over the Heat. The crowd, roaring with delight, gave him a
standing ovation. Then last Sunday, in the first quarter of a game against
the Wizards, Walker's season took another twist when he sprained his left
ankle. Team officials feared he would miss the Celtics' final 10 games.
As a Boston team that had delusions of playoff grandeur fights to keep
itself out of the Atlantic Division basement, Walker's injury may have a
devastating effect. Before going down, though, he had become almost as
infamous among Celtics fans as Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe, the poster
boys of the Celtics' darkest days. No other team leader in the history of
this storied franchise was exalted and then condemned the way Walker has
been, with sentiments often shifting from one quarter to the next.
The Celtics clearly consider Walker their star of the future, having
signed him to a six-year, $71 million contract extension in January.
Walker was deemed a sound investment three months ago because he's only 22
years old and can score, rebound and pass. Yet Boston fans, spoiled by
decades of excellence and blinded by faith in coach Rick Pitino, have not
warmed to Walker, who has never been to the playoffs and whose career
record in Celtics green was 67-137 at week's end. Some parochial
Bostonians despise his signature celebratory move, the wiggle, which he
performs even after scoring meaningless baskets. Walker's declaration last
summer that he was "a veteran All-Star" also cost him, and he did not
endear himself to Celtics fans this season by reporting to camp out of
shape.
What Walker's critics fail to note is that he had played extremely hard
over the past month, and his once reckless shot selection had been
remarkably judicious. "If I have a bad game and they boo me, that's fine,"
Walker said after the loss to Atlanta. "I make the big money. I'll take
the blame. But if I take a shot and it doesn't go in, you're going to boo
me? It's ridiculous."
No athlete could have endured the scrutiny Walker was under. His heroics
against the Heat last Friday were a welcome salve for his wounds, but he
understood such relief was only temporary.
The larger issue is how Walker's woes have affected his teammates, notably
rookie forward Paul Pierce and second-year swingman Ron Mercer. Team
sources say that Mercer, who can sign an extension with the Celtics this
summer but was shopped before the trading deadline, will think long and
hard before re-upping. Mercer recently changed agents. He dumped David
Falk -- who has a cozy relationship with Pitino and handles a number of
Kentucky alumni, including Walker and Celtics forward Walter McCarty -- to
go with Master P. Mercer also severed ties with financial adviser Rick
Avare, a Pitino pal from Kentucky who is now on the Boston payroll.
Mercer says the moves were business decisions, not a declaration of
independence from a controlling coach. He has spoken very little about his
future, but after the Hawks game he was visibly shaken by the treatment
Walker had received. "Antoine is a strong person," Mercer said. "If anyone
else on the team was going through that, I don't think we could deal with
it. It's so unfair to put all the blame on him."
Pierce admits that he, too, was jolted by the fans' hostility toward
Walker. "I don't understand," says Pierce. "He's been playing some of his
best basketball, but he can't make mistakes anymore?"
Walker says he will "reevaluate everything" at season's end. He has few
options. He is locked up in Boston until 2006, and even if he decides to
ask for a trade, his base salary makes him a poor candidate for a swap.
Perhaps that's why there's so much frustration in the air at the Fleet.
The stark truth is that Walker is stuck with the Celtics, and they are
stuck with him.
Clipper at a Crossroads:
Forwards Rodney
Rogers and Lorenzen Wright -- both of whom will be free agents this summer
-- and veteran guard Pooh Richardson have made it clear they want out.
Forward Maurice Taylor, the Clippers' first pick in the '97 draft, also
could become a free agent after next season and opt to leave.
"I think Maurice will stay," Olowokandi said last week. "His attitude has
always been positive. He gets upset when we lose. He cares what happens to
our team." <Snips>