just heard it on the radio. antoine walker for latrell sprewell. it's not a done deal, but they are in "serious negotiations" at this moment.
<a HREF="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/96779p-87663c.html">Knicks talk Walker</a> <i> The Knicks are in serious trade discussions with Celtics for Antoine Walker, possibly for Latrell Sprewell. Scott Layden's plan to revamp the Knicks roster could include Celtics All-Star power forward Antoine Walker. The Knicks and Celtics have had serious discussions in recent days concerning a deal for Walker, according to a league source. A potential deal could include Latrell Sprewell, whose contract matches Walker's. Or Boston could be looking to cut payroll by adding several lower-salaried players, including Kurt Thomas. A third team may have to be involved in order to complete the deal. Walker, who will turn 27 in August, has averaged 20.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in seven NBA seasons. But the 6-9 forward was severely outplayed by Kenyon Martin in the Nets' four-game second-round sweep of Boston. Walker averaged just 14 points and shot 34% in the series. Since the Celtics' playoff exit, Walker has been the subject of several trade rumors, including one to his hometown Chicago Bulls. While Walker is a talented albeit moody player, many teams have been turned off by his contract, which calls for him to make $28 million over the next two seasons. Sprewell is also scheduled to earn $28 million over the next two seasons, although his contract includes an opt out clause for July 2004. The Knicks have been looking to move Sprewell since last summer but have found few willing partners. Layden, the Knicks president, has a surplus of power forwards on his roster and that position became even more crowded with the additions of Mike Sweetney and Maciej Lampe during last week's NBA draft. Layden would not hesitate to trade Thomas, Clarence Weatherspoon or Othella Harrington. And although the Celtics drafted a point guard, they could be in the market for Charlie Ward, whose contract expires after the 2003-04 season. Ward's contract also includes a buyout clause for $2 million, which can be exercised starting tomorrow. Layden's interest in Walker makes sense on many levels. Antonio McDyess is coming off knee surgery and may miss a second straight season. And since Larry Johnson retired, the Knicks have been devoid of a true low-post scorer. Last season, Don Chaney ran his offense through Sprewell. With Walker on the team, the Knicks could feature him either in the post or as a point forward. </i>
Funny, considering Danny Ainge said, weeks ago, they will not trade Antoine Walker. I guess he can say, "Well, I forgot to add, 'at this time,' as in, 'We will not trade Antoine Walker at this time,' or, 'today'."
A potential deal could include Latrell Sprewell, whose contract matches Walker's. Or Boston could be looking to cut payroll by adding several lower-salaried players, including Kurt Thomas. A third team may have to be involved in order to complete the deal It'd be nice to see the Rockets try to be that third team and somehow get Kurth Thomas out of all this.
If this is true, would Spree play point for the C's? Or would he be the 2 and PP move over to SF? Interesting scenario for the Knicks, cause I think Walker would supply a lot of the offense they've been lacking.
I am not a huge Walker fan, I think he jacks WAY too many 3ptrs and does not do enough inside. However, I think the Knicks would be stealing from the Celts if they got Walker for Sprewell. This would hurt the Celtics. They already have enough of a scoring burden on Pierce as it is, adding Sprewell makes it MORE of a burden. PLUS whatever inside game you had WITH Walker is gone! It makes the Celts an even MORE perimeter oriented team. Perhaps they get better defensively but are they a better team overall? I don't know. This makes sense for the Knicks as it moves Sprewell for better scoring but not the Celts. One more thing, the Knicks would continue their rediculous trend of adding ANOTHER undersized PF in Walker to their core of Weatherspoon, Thomas, Harrington, and Sweetney.
There would have to be more to the trade, say, throw in Othella-my-Fella as the C's PF. I would also like Kurt Thomas in a Rox uniform. He's a bad mofo. Ornery.
It does make the Celtics more perimiter oriented but the addition of Spreewell will give them an open court presence other than Paul Pierce. IMO Sprewell is one of the top 3 or 4 open court players in the league.
Why in the world would the Celts do this deal? They already have no inside presence, and now they are basically giving away Walker. I don't think Walker is all that to begin with, but Spreewell is way passed his prime.
Well, Walker really isn't an inside presence either. All he does is sit outside and jack 3's. If you are gonna have a player sit on the perimiter all day, why not get the best perimiter player?
There is almost nothing Sprewell does offensively better than Walker. Walker is a lot more than a spot up shooter (he is a very difficult player to match-up with, he can play inside, he can handle the ball, he is a fine passer) even if he is a gun and a half. This would be a very good trade for the Knicks and I can't see how it helps Boston. Granted Walker isn't the Celts answer for a tougher middle defense--but there hole and the 4 & 5 spots would double with this trade.
If Rasheed Wallace could somehow become a part of this deal, you could have the 3 most overrated players in the NBA all being traded for each other.
He is about the same size as the rest of the group that the Knicks have. Walker is only 6'8" is he not?
He's not exactly undersized but he plays small. He likes to handle the ball and shoot the perimeter shot. His game is more like that of a small forward but he is too slow to guard one.
I like Walker. At least he brings something to the table each night. He just had a bad series against Kenyon and needs to learn from that.
I don't really think they should've expected him to guard a player like Kenyon. K-Mart is way to active for a player like Walker to guard. He's got a 3's quickness in a 4's body whereas Walker's got a 4's quickness in a 3's body.
At this point, I honestly could care less who they get for Walker, as long as he is not a Celtic next season. The Celts are not gonna win any championships with Walker, it's time to build around Pierce.
Ainge is tryin to build a running team (Banks will make it happen), so this isn't that surprising, considering that Walker can neither run nor jump. Baseball teams often put big name players on and off waivers near the trading deadline just to see how much interest a guy can really garner...same thing is going on here, and outside of a nutcase like Layden, I can't imagine there's many teams who would want Antoine. A package of Weatherspoon, Othella and Kurt Thomas is more likely than a straight Sprewell for Walker trade imo.
