Hey, I remember that game. I was there...and pretty excited about the new prospect, Bill Walker. He had some nice big (wide open) baseline dunks in that game...and didn't back down from T-Mac at all, which showed me that he had no reverence for anyone other than what they earned on the court, which I thought bode well for his career.
I actually thought he was someone worth developing-he had athleticism, good size for a 3, and ended up adding the 3pt jumper. Too bad the C's weren't intersted in developing anyone and let him go. The NYK got a steal there, expecially since he's locked up for cheap money for 2 more years, thanks to Danny.
Excuse the following rant, but geez. I really think people need to realize that Billy Walker and JR Giddens weren't gonna be our basketball saviors.
Our team tends to puts more emphasis on high basketball IQ than raw athleticism. What's the one thing you always hear about most of our players?? They have high basketball IQ.
So yea, Walker had some great dunks, but does that translate into being a potentially great player? Are athleticism and basketball IQ mutually exclusive? I don't think so. We see a few dunks every now and then, but their coaches see those guys in practice everyday and are familiar with the thought process.
People keep saying that the Celtics (more specifically, Doc) don't like young players... Well, Glen Davis was once a young player, Leon Powe was a young player, Rajon Rondo was a young player. But those guys have gained respect as being smart players. I'm not saying that Walker and Giddens weren't, but with a team built to win now you're gonna lean towards the guys who clearly "get it" right away, as opposed to the ones who are incredibly athletic but opt to make the highlight play instead of the fundamentally sound play.
Could Walker learn the ropes and turn out to be a good role player in a few seasons? Sure. But with a team that has stated it has a 2-year window, its hard to dedicate time to works in progress.