<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There's talk around the NBA lately that the Pacers and Hawks have interest in making a deal: Artest and Scot Pollard for Antoine Walker. It makes a lot of sense for both teams, though Bird says he hasn't talked with Atlanta. It would get the NBA off the hook for perhaps an excessive punishment to one of its model franchises. The Pacers need a forward to replace Artest; Jackson's playing there now. It pays for Atlanta to take a chance on an All-Star for a player they will lose for nothing to free agency in a few months of a lost season. Plus, Hawks general manager Billy Knight is a Donnie Walsh protege and likely wouldn't mind helping his old mentor. The Pacers went to New York recently to meet with Commissioner David Stern to plead for mercy, at least for the franchise and the community.</div> Chicago Tribune: Full Story
If RC has a problem with Artest and his role in the offense, how is he going to feel when Antoine Walker is jacking 3's with 20 seconds on the shot clock? Horrible trade.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">At least in Atlanta there will be no fans for Ronnie to attack. Works for him.</div> LOL ^ that was cold but true i don't see how 'Toine would help the Pacers though, he will make them worse if anything.
How does Artest go from being traded for Peja, to being traded for Walker? The Pacers need Artest to lead their defense and set the physical tone in games. The last thing the Pacers need is Antoine Walker launching 3's all night long and getting torched on defense. Also Walker is a free agent, I don't see the Pacers renting him for a season and losing their best defender in return.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">At least in Atlanta there will be no fans for Ronnie to attack. Works for him.</div> thats real funny and its true . me and sonics1 are here in atlanta. in fact we are going to a game today. i like artest so i hope thios trade goes thorugh. at least this way i believe we get an allstar calliber player in return for walker. i like the fact also that artest does not have the same hefty contract as he does. I believe pollard and artest could step our defense up a bit here in atl. And if we are able to get Chris paul via draft, i think our team would be looking forward with our rooks this year plus any other aquisitions that we make. As for walker i think he's works better as being a compliment player than rather being the main focus point of a offense. So I think walker could work well with a good coach like carlisle, being the second or even thrid option on the pacers team. His defense is questionable but i believe walker could help the pacers now with the absence of artest, i mean depth is always good. And if walker does not fit the pacers team they can just let him go to free agency.
That would be a terrible trade for Indiana, and a great trade for the Atlanta. If Artest didn't get himself suspended for the season, he was on his way to being one of the top 10 players in the league. The East is weak, and Indiana can still win a playoff series or two. They should stay patient, get Artest back next season, and return to contender-status.
Man this would be awesome for us in ATOWN. I really like Pollard and Artest. Antoine is good though 36,9,10 last night. I am not saying that this is a good trade for the Pacers but I think they know what they are doing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Fire:</div><div class="quote_post">Man this would be awesome for us in ATOWN. I really like Pollard and Artest. Antoine is good though 36,9,10 last night. I am not saying that this is a good trade for the Pacers but I think they know what they are doing.</div> true, true so true.
That is a horrid trade for the Pacers IMO. Antoine will not be able to exist with Carlisle. For Atlanta though, I would love that trade. Artest is a great defender and a trade, in my eyes, is what he needs and would get his suspension shortened.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe 8 Ball:</div><div class="quote_post">Antoine will not be able to exist with Carlisle.</div> Not sure where that comes from, cause Antoine had 3 coaches in 7 years with the C's and he never fueded with any of them. He had a minor tiff with Don Nelson over playing time, but what NBA player hasn't complained about pt? If Antoine is anything, it's coachable. The only time that Antoine caused any rift in Boston was after Ainge traded him and that was only because Danny had publicly ripped Toine numerous times before making the deal (making the 'toine-back-to-Boston stuff just that much more improbable.) And for those of you who rip Walker for his defense, I would just like to remind you that he played his best basketball under Jim O'Brien, a guy who stressed defense first. I also don't think he would be jacking shots left and right with a player like JO to defer to. He knew enough to defer to Pierce and then to Dirk - he'd know his role. And lets not forget, Larry has been a big Walker supporter since he was drafted. I know better than to question the Legend. However, as big a fan of Walker I am, that doesn't mean I would do this deal if I'm the Pacers. I do think Artest has played his last game for Indiana, because no matter where he goes from now on, people are going to bring up the brawl. You can't have that distraction and realistically compete for a title. But the chances are too great that Walker would be a half-season rental. Go after a guy under contract for a couple more seasons.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CeltsMan54:</div><div class="quote_post">And for those of you who rip Walker for his defense, I would just like to remind you that he played his best basketball under Jim O'Brien, a guy who stressed defense first. I also don't think he would be jacking shots left and right with a player like JO to defer to. He knew enough to defer to Pierce and then to Dirk - he'd know his role. And lets not forget, Larry has been a big Walker supporter since he was drafted. I know better than to question the Legend.</div> Walker didn't exactly defer offense to Pierce or Dirk. I won't fault him for the amount of shots he took with the Celtics, because him and Pierce were the 1st and 2nd option on offense. Also Walker posted up a lot more when he played for the Celtics, something I'd like to see him do more of, because he's great at it. In Dallas, he still managed to chuck up 4 shots per game from behind the arc. The only reason his field goal attempts were down, was because his minutes were down. As for Walker's defense, the only time he improved was the 2002 season. For the first time in his career, he worked hard in the offseason adding muscle mass, training with Michael Jordan and weight lifting with Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover. It was Dick Harter who helped Walker improve his defensive game, not Jim O'Brien, and the rule changes to the zone defense was a key factor in helping out Walker. And of course Antoine was looking for the Celtics to sign him to an extension in 2003. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But the chances are too great that Walker would be a half-season rental. Go after a guy under contract for a couple more seasons.</div> I agree.
Indiana would definitely be worse off if this trade went through. Why would they bring Ron Ron back to training and then trade him?
