Walker is willing to go to Europe!

[nickagneta]

if you are really going to need that "15th spot" on the roster, I'd rather see them buy out Scalabrine AND let Walker develop on our bench while spending some occasional time in the D-League.  IMO, being around and practicing against guys like Pierce/Allen/Garnett/Posey is going to help him a ton. 

TP4U. Saved me the time of typing the exact same thing. Save me time, get a Tommy Point.

[clover]

Walker really comes off as a mature and intelligent guy in that interview.   Giddens's claims to his turnaround will ring a bit hollow until he makes it through his rookie year without incident, but Walker comes across as the real deal.  Whether they want to stash him for a year may have to do with how their FA signings go, but I give him a good chance to learn quickly enough and work hard enough before the season starts for Doc to want him here this year.

[guava_wrench]

if you are really going to need that "15th spot" on the roster, I'd rather see them buy out Scalabrine AND let Walker develop on our bench while spending some occasional time in the D-League.  IMO, being around and practicing against guys like Pierce/Allen/Garnett/Posey is going to help him a ton. 

TP4U. Saved me the time of typing the exact same thing. Save me time, get a Tommy Point.

Why waste the money? The ownership is clearly willing to spend, but why throw money away by cutting Scal. The "buyout" idea only makes sense when the player wants to leave and is will to give up money to leave. That is not the situation with Scal.

Nevertheless, Dickerson asking about playing abroad is much different from Ainge asking. We are speculating big time.

I like how Walker wants to play like Pierce. Walker looks strong. I would be surprised to see him turn into a scorer comparable to Pierce, but it's nice to hear he wants to play strong on offense. Despite his pretty dunks, he doesn't seem to be a fan of pretty.

[RockinRyA]

if you are really going to need that "15th spot" on the roster, I'd rather see them buy out Scalabrine AND let Walker develop on our bench while spending some occasional time in the D-League.  IMO, being around and practicing against guys like Pierce/Allen/Garnett/Posey is going to help him a ton. 

TP4U. Saved me the time of typing the exact same thing. Save me time, get a Tommy Point.

Why waste the money? The ownership is clearly willing to spend, but why throw money away by cutting Scal. The "buyout" idea only makes sense when the player wants to leave and is will to give up money to leave. That is not the situation with Scal.

Nevertheless, Dickerson asking about playing abroad is much different from Ainge asking. We are speculating big time.

I like how Walker wants to play like Pierce. Walker looks strong. I would be surprised to see him turn into a scorer comparable to Pierce, but it's nice to hear he wants to play strong on offense. Despite his pretty dunks, he doesn't seem to be a fan of pretty.

yeah and he said hes never been a fan of that faker flair. im loving this guy more 

[indeedproceed]

I kind of wish Bill would stay here.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Meh, this is all talk... he was probably trying to be nice to Dickerson. If he started to negotiate with Danny I doubt there would be much willingness.

Anyways, I was one of the camp that wouldn't have minded seeing Walker in Europe for one year, but I'm intrigued by him at the moment especially seeing how he lost weight. No decision should be made on this matter until he comes and plays in a month or so and see where he's at.

[timepiece33]

Why waste the money? The ownership is clearly willing to spend, but why throw money away by cutting Scal. The "buyout" idea only makes sense when the player wants to leave and is will to give up money to leave. That is not the situation with Scal.

Nevertheless, Dickerson asking about playing abroad is much different from Ainge asking. We are speculating big time.

I like how Walker wants to play like Pierce. Walker looks strong. I would be surprised to see him turn into a scorer comparable to Pierce, but it's nice to hear he wants to play strong on offense. Despite his pretty dunks, he doesn't seem to be a fan of pretty.

Personally, I see no reason to keep the 15th spot on the roster open so I believe it is an irrelevant conversation ... but if that is a goal of the organization, I'd rather see us pay out Scalabrine than force Walker overseas.  Scalabrine is not going to make an impact for us at all.  He's basically the 5th option at PF/C and won't ever suit up.   

The team bought Walker's rights for a reason.   He's a good prospect.

[RedsCeltics34]

I would rather Bill stay with the Celtics and take the 15th roster spot then go there.

[meesho33]

his agent should think that his client is the 50th pick and isnt cracking a championship roster for a year or two, and send his guy out to work on his game.

kid is the 50th pick, he's not sniffing a roster spot.

He was a low pick but he's a top 20 talent.

He'll make the roster this year and ride the bench and appear in some blowout games.

I think next year he cracks the rotation.

 Every kid with upside picked in the second round is played up as "well, if it haden't been for x, he would have been a lottery pick!"

and if i had been 7'2, i would have made the NBA instead of a desk job.

He will not be taking a valuable bench spot on a championship team, its either europe or the NBDL for him for a year.

There are a lot of second round picks that are just second round talents.  There are also a handful of guys who have "first round talent" but fall into the second round because of question marks - whether it's character, injury, or otherwise.  Then there are one or two guys who sometimes fall like Walker who are absolute top 10 talents that fall for similar reasons.

It's a far exaggeration to say "every kid with upside is played up as...."

In the case of Walker, he was atop everyone's draft board as a top 5-10 pick before he hurt his knee - that is a fact, not something drummed up because he has upside.  If he is healthy, he certainly has the talent, athleticism and NBA ready body to deserve a bottom roster spot on ANY team in the NBA. 

I think this kid is an absolute beast and I'd rather have him getting experience practicing with the C's and getting run in the NBDL than heading over to Europe.

[Mon]

his agent should think that his client is the 50th pick and isnt cracking a championship roster for a year or two, and send his guy out to work on his game.

kid is the 50th pick, he's not sniffing a roster spot.

He was a low pick but he's a top 20 talent.

He'll make the roster this year and ride the bench and appear in some blowout games.

I think next year he cracks the rotation.

 Every kid with upside picked in the second round is played up as "well, if it haden't been for x, he would have been a lottery pick!"

and if i had been 7'2, i would have made the NBA instead of a desk job.

He will not be taking a valuable bench spot on a championship team, its either europe or the NBDL for him for a year.

There are a lot of second round picks that are just second round talents.  There are also a handful of guys who have "first round talent" but fall into the second round because of question marks - whether it's character, injury, or otherwise.  Then there are one or two guys who sometimes fall like Walker who are absolute top 10 talents that fall for similar reasons.

It's a far exaggeration to say "every kid with upside is played up as...."

In the case of Walker, he was atop everyone's draft board as a top 5-10 pick before he hurt his knee - that is a fact, not something drummed up because he has upside.  If he is healthy, he certainly has the talent, athleticism and NBA ready body to deserve a bottom roster spot on ANY team in the NBA. 

I think this kid is an absolute beast and I'd rather have him getting experience practicing with the C's and getting run in the NBDL than heading over to Europe.

That's my feeling as well.

Interesting though...he doesn't have an agent.

[Who]

I'd rather they kept him on the team than sending to Euro-land.

[RockinRyA]

yeah, it would be better if they do a pruitt on him than sending him overseas. and i guess he could play some in blowouts(so we could some of those dunks  )

[paintitgreen]

his agent should think that his client is the 50th pick and isnt cracking a championship roster for a year or two, and send his guy out to work on his game.

kid is the 50th pick, he's not sniffing a roster spot.

He was a low pick but he's a top 20 talent.

He'll make the roster this year and ride the bench and appear in some blowout games.

I think next year he cracks the rotation.

 Every kid with upside picked in the second round is played up as "well, if it haden't been for x, he would have been a lottery pick!"

and if i had been 7'2, i would have made the NBA instead of a desk job.

He will not be taking a valuable bench spot on a championship team, its either europe or the NBDL for him for a year.

There are a lot of second round picks that are just second round talents.  There are also a handful of guys who have "first round talent" but fall into the second round because of question marks - whether it's character, injury, or otherwise.  Then there are one or two guys who sometimes fall like Walker who are absolute top 10 talents that fall for similar reasons.

It's a far exaggeration to say "every kid with upside is played up as...."

In the case of Walker, he was atop everyone's draft board as a top 5-10 pick before he hurt his knee - that is a fact, not something drummed up because he has upside.  If he is healthy, he certainly has the talent, athleticism and NBA ready body to deserve a bottom roster spot on ANY team in the NBA. 

I think this kid is an absolute beast and I'd rather have him getting experience practicing with the C's and getting run in the NBDL than heading over to Europe.

That's my feeling as well.

Interesting though...he doesn't have an agent.

More to the original point - what does it matter that he was the 47th pick? Leon Powe was the 49th pick two years ago and was essential to our team. The same year, Paul Millsap was the 47th pick and has been a very good NBA player and Daniel Gibson was the 42nd pick and was crucial to the Cavs making the Finals in 07 as a second round rookie. Where he was picked says absolutely nothing about what he can contribute, his abilities as a player tell us what he can contribute. Maybe he's not worth a roster spot yet and maybe Europe's the right place for him. But him being the 47th pick has absolutely nothing to do with what the right move is here.

[KJ33]

his agent should think that his client is the 50th pick and isnt cracking a championship roster for a year or two, and send his guy out to work on his game.

kid is the 50th pick, he's not sniffing a roster spot.

He was a low pick but he's a top 20 talent.

He'll make the roster this year and ride the bench and appear in some blowout games.

I think next year he cracks the rotation.

 Every kid with upside picked in the second round is played up as "well, if it haden't been for x, he would have been a lottery pick!"

and if i had been 7'2, i would have made the NBA instead of a desk job.

He will not be taking a valuable bench spot on a championship team, its either europe or the NBDL for him for a year.

You mean that valuable 15th spot, the one that is in street clothes or in the D league?  I think there is a spot for Walker given there are 15 spots and only 12 dress, he won't be "taking a valuable bench spot" if he is not even eligible to play most games.  I agree also with other posters that you are way overgeneralizing about second round picks, it isn't just the Celtics or local media making these claims about where Walker would have gone if not injured, most rating services had him that high.  There are multiple 2nd round picks who have never been ranked very high, they got picked in the 2nd round because that is what their talent warranted.  I think Walker would get far more out of being around the Celts, perhaps shuttling back and forth to the D League a la Pruitt this year, learning the Celts plays, seeing how our vets conduct themselves, etc. than heading to a foreign country just to get playing time.

[Big Ticket]

I think Walker would learn more valuable things sticking on the Celtics, even if it meant street clothes during games, than from going to play in Europe.  Practicing with KG, Pierce, Allen, et al and being around the C's coaching staff would be great for him.