Antoine's Advice: Stop talking about rebuilding...get in the playoffs.

[Celtics18]

I love Antoine Walker.  He's a Celtic legend.  I think it would be great to see him employed by the team in a coaching capacity. 

[Mr October]

Eh, the celtics have missed the playoffs just once in the past 7 years. It is OK to miss it again. Certainly try to win though.

And until this team is a 55+ winning team, the word rebuilding will be talked about. It is what it is.

[coco]

I love Antoine Walker.  He's a Celtic legend.  I think it would be great to see him employed by the team in a coaching capacity.

AW seems to be a nice guy.
I think we categorize "Celtics Legend" differently.  First you have got to make HOF, then we can start talking about legends in my book.

In any case, I wouldn't take advice from AW...unless it to ask directions to a good restaurant.

[BballTim]

I love Antoine Walker.  He's a Celtic legend.  I think it would be great to see him employed by the team in a coaching capacity.

  I liked Antoine more than most but I don't know that I'd want him coaching the players.

[Fred Roberts]

I agree with 'toine. Get to the playoffs, draft well without tanking and generate stability around the franchise. The occasional tank can happen every once in a while but shouldn't become the plan multiple years in a row. We're good enough to compete for a playoff spot now. We should. If we are bad we're back to the lotto anyway.

[D.o.s.]

If free throw percentage was correlated to wanting to make free throws every player in the league would put Ray Allen's career numbers from the line to shame.

You would think if he was so passionate about the game that he would do something to actually improve his ability to play the game. 

I think Antoine did love being a C, which is commendable because he played at a time when Celtic Pride was its nadir, but his Achilles' heel was his lack of dedication to the game in the off-season.  Dude just left his game slide until the C's had no other choice than to trade him.

I agree with you, I just don't know if I agree with the way we're talking about him. He's pretty much the only player ever where the criticism "never played the right way" is accurate, but he was also never encouraged to do so. And not in the "one superstar doesn't get to play D" way that was so prevalent in teh late 90's early 2000's.

[BballTim]

If free throw percentage was correlated to wanting to make free throws every player in the league would put Ray Allen's career numbers from the line to shame.

You would think if he was so passionate about the game that he would do something to actually improve his ability to play the game. 

  Antoine was a terrific ball-handler for his size. I doubt he got that way without trying to improve his game.

[freshinthehouse]

He was an awesome ball-handler in college too.  It was gift. 

And I don't want it to come off as thinking AW was just playing XBox during the off-season.  Many have said that Antoine played a ton of ball in the off-season (I think his friendship with MJ started by playing off-season games in Chicago), but he never stepped foot in the weight room, cared about his diet, or took working on specific drills (like free throws).  You can ignore those kind of things if you are a physical freak (though it usually catches up to those types as well, just at a later age), but Antoine, for all of his freakish basketball talent, wasn't all that physically gifted.  There's a reason that a guy that talented and that loved by teammates was out the game by age 32.

[SHAQATTACK]

Eh, the celtics have missed the playoffs just once in the past 7 years. It is OK to miss it again. Certainly try to win though.

And until this team is a 55+ winning team, the word rebuilding will be talked about. It is what it is.

Amen bro. TP

[Beat LA]

He was an awesome ball-handler in college too.  It was gift. 

And I don't want it to come off as thinking AW was just playing XBox during the off-season.  Many have said that Antoine played a ton of ball in the off-season (I think his friendship with MJ started by playing off-season games in Chicago), but he never stepped foot in the weight room, cared about his diet, or took working on specific drills (like free throws).  You can ignore those kind of things if you are a physical freak (though it usually catches up to those types as well, just at a later age), but Antoine, for all of his freakish basketball talent, wasn't all that physically gifted.  There's a reason that a guy that talented and that loved by teammates was out the game by age 32.

He was also an excellent passer and rebounder, and when you combine that with his ball handling ability, I have to wonder why he couldn't mold himself into an Odom-like player off the bench for someone between 2008-2011.  Perhaps even for us.  He would also take and make the big shot, and, even though I don't love the guy, he was huge for Miami when they won it all with his clutch shooting, and, just a year later, when they were getting swept in the 1st round by the Bulls, he was the only guy who actually showed up and competed in that series, imo.  The guy might not have been the best player, but he loved the moment, so perhaps you could classify him as a playoff performer (for the most part).  In fairness, though, I didn't see him play until 04-05, so I'm not exactly the best judge of him as a player haha.

[BballTim]

He was an awesome ball-handler in college too.  It was gift. 

And I don't want it to come off as thinking AW was just playing XBox during the off-season.  Many have said that Antoine played a ton of ball in the off-season (I think his friendship with MJ started by playing off-season games in Chicago), but he never stepped foot in the weight room, cared about his diet, or took working on specific drills (like free throws).

  Do you know that he didn't practice free throws, or are you just guessing?

[Rainmaker]

Celtics never tanked under Auerbach.
The year following the 76 championship-the Celtics made the playoffs and lost to Philadelphia. (Julius Erving and George McGinnis, I think.)
The real problem was when Irv Levin sold the team to John Y. Brown and we almost lost Red to NY.  Those were dark days in Boston- Havlicek retired, White was traded-Cowens went M. I. A.

The Celtics clearly tried to tank under ML Carr in an attempt to get Duncan.


I think in this day and age, if you are having a bad bad year, it  doesn't hurt to try to get a good draft pick. 

Walker was probably interviewed and answered the question honestly.  Had he said anything about tanking, he would have gotten lit up on this forum.   I think too many people on this forum are callous about their remarks about NBA players. 

It's like we turn on players, and forget that they are people.