I have to agree. I think we need to a SG who can really shoot consistently. That alone would take a load of pressure off Yao & T-Mac. And improving the defense at the 2-3 spots would improve our interior defense as well as Yao won't get hung out to dry by guys who have streaked past our perimeter players.
Getting him to cut down on the bad shots is exactly what a smart coach should get him to do since his poor shot selection happens to be his biggest flaw. I agree he's a streaky shooter but if he's taking smart shots the likelyhood of those shots falling is much higher than some of the poor, low percentage shots he's notorious for taking in the past.
It's kind of funny to get criticized from the other side -- It's better than 'he's smoking dope' for suggesting it, I guess. I don't have a bias against Walker. I don't think saying he is in love with the three-point shot is a conclusion made based on one season (that season just happens to be the most threes he took). I said in the profile that the Rockets would be crazy not to listen if he expressed interest, so I'm curious if not open to him. But I do not think he is the best fit of the available options. I'm actually surprised that the Rockets have expressed interest, if only because Antoine Walker sounds like the exact opposite of the type of player Van Gundy goes for. And that is all that those profiles were about for me -- analyzing the Rocket fit of potentially available players.
Best fit has to include the $$$$. AW will not be a fit at all if he demands more than MLE. At the same time, if he is willing to take MLE, then he is the best fit, if STR wants $10 mil per.
I've lived in Boston for seven of the past nine years. Walker went through an initial period when he was great, then he hit a few random 3s and transformed himself internally into a three-point shooter. That is when he started jacking up ridiculous, I'm-on-fire-in-NBA-Jam type shots. Dan Majerle made a similar transition and never recovered. However, this past year, Walker did change a lot. He still does things that makes you roll your eyes, and he is probably not the Rockets' #1 choice for that reason. But I do think that he played tougher and smarter this past year when he came back to Boston. Whether he has really decided to change for good is the question none of us can answer. I'm sure Van Gundy and Dawson will be asking him whether he's for goodness or for badness.
