Antoine Walker, in the opinion of Celtics fans, is a lot like beer that is flavored with fruit additives.  You either love the idea of him/it being added to one of your favorite things or you hate it.  He either perfects it for you or he totally destroys it for you.

Now that Antoine is officially an unrestricted free agent, I feel obligated to chime in and support a true Celtic that deserves a return engagement.  I am a huge fan of Blueberry Beer (Wachusett Blueberry to be exact) and I am a huge proponent of Antoine's return to where he belongs - on the Boston Celtics.  I have read the debates in the Celtics Blog and Real GM forums and have listened to my friends and fellow Celtics fans fall on both sides of the issue.  After considering every viewpoint and thinking it over a lot, I have come to the conclusion that nobody will ever be able to have their opinion on this issue swayed.  You are what you are and I want to employ Employee #8.

Since I have already concluded that people’s opinions cannot be changed (I am a glutton for punishment), here is how I justify another Antoine Walker return to this franchise:

1) Antoine is fat and a shadow of the player that he thought he used to be

Everyone on the side that argues that Antoine should not be allowed within the borders of New England unless he is wearing the laundry of another NBA team argues that 'Toine is no longer the difference maker that he used to be.  He can no longer carry a team and has lost whatever athletic ability that he used to have (save the he can't jump over a phone book jokes).

Antoine isn't the player that lead us on a 10-game win streak in his last return anymore and he also isn't the same player that used to demolish a young Chris Webber when we would beat the Washington Bullets.  He definitely isn't the "veteran all-star" that he once thought he was and he isn't even as good as he was in Miami's run to the NBA Championship.  He is an older, less athletic version of himself at this point.

However, he doesn't have to be all of that for his return to the Celtics to make sense.  All that he has to be is a contributing member of the second unit.  His role would be small and specific but important to this roster.  Antoine's skill set and predicament lend themselves perfectly to what this team needs right now.  He is a championship proven veteran leader that won’t cost us much at all.  We could snag him for minimal cost and solve a few problems that our second unit has run into this season.  Antoine could be the answer to the “Eddie House cannot handle presses,” conundrum.  Antoine’s dribbling and playmaking ability from the small forward or power forward position would allow the second unit flexibility that it doesn’t currently have.  He would also be a player that can facilitate the offense when the second unit starts growing stagnant.  He has always been a viable create and dish type player and he can also facilitate the offense from the block when needed.  He may no longer be a great scorer, outside shooter or rebounder but there will be times when he sprinkles flashes of those proficiencies into game scenarios.  Even this version or edition of Antoine Walker would greatly help our second unit if he gave us numbers like he provided in Minnesota just last season – 8 points, 4 rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes (not that he would play 20 minutes per game).

2) There are plenty of players that would be better to add to this roster than Antoine

One of my good friends, who happens to be an active Celtics Blog member, thinks that there is no shot that Antoine returns to Boston.  He says that he is holding out hope for Dikembe Mutombo or another seven-foot big to come in and solidify our bench.  While Dikembe has his merits, he also has as many questions the most ardent Antoine detractor could come up with while trying to cleverly disparage the greatest purveyor of the wiggle this side of Memphis.

 Dikemebe isn’t currently being paid by another team, so he would probably want a bit more money for his services.  He is over 40 year old according to his NBA bio and that is a very conservative estimate considering that nobody can confirm his birth date.  At this phase in his career, he could be injury-prone and be a waste of a roster move and cap penalty, while Antoine has been very durable during his career and is coming off of a lot of rest.  Mutombo offers no offensive advantage to our offensively challenged second unit and would clog up the one area where Lean Powe, our only offensive threat on the second unit, prefers to set up.

If the Celtics were to miss out on Mutombo, like Doc Rivers seems to think they will, then what will they do?  If Mutombo goes to Houston, then who do we turn to?  There aren’t seven-foot defensive stoppers waiting on the open market and there really aren’t any other free agents that would fill our needs the way that ‘Toine could. 

Spare me all of the talk about Stephon Marbury.  The Celtics very well may be looking at bringing him aboard but would you actually be willing to swallow having him on our roster over a player that has lived and breathed Celtics basketball?  The addition of Marbury would also further bury Gabe Pruitt, who is starting to make an argument  for playing time that cannot be denied.  We do not need a point guard added to this roster.

3) You think that we don’t need to add another PG but want to add another PF?

That is correct and I will explain why it makes sense.  Our bench may be littered with players that can play power forward but nobody can bring what Walker can bring to our second unit.  Leon Powe is a legit power forward and scoring option for the second unit, there is no arguing that.  However, Glen Davis plays center for the Celtics and has ever since he got her last season.  He rarely if ever mans the power forward position.  Do you ever see him and Perk on the floor at the same time?  The addition of Antoine wouldn’t necessarily effect Davis’ role at all.  Brian Scalabrine can play power forward but at this point the Celtics need to start weeding him out of the rotation.  He is a serviceable player but cannot add what ‘Toine can add to that unit.

Will somebody please wake Patrick O’Bryant up?

Antoine can handle the basketball and help facilitate an offense that he is already familiar with.  He wouldn’t even be the focal point of this unit!  He could help to make sure that Powe keeps getting the ball on the block and when that doesn’t work, he could drive and dish out to House in the corner.

4) What if we sign him and it just doesn’t work out?

The best thing about completing the Antoine Walker trilogy is that it comes a such little expense.  If things don’t work out and he proves to be a bad fit, have a negative hold on the locker room or even jack up way too many 3-pointers, then we just cut him loose.  He would be coming in on a minimal salary because he is already subsidized by Memphis.  If things are working and PJ Brown is still sitting at home waiting for the Celtics, then we make that change and bring PJ back.

We would have only lost minimal money (by NBA standards) and a body that we are going to have to cut in any acquisition scenario.  It would be the easiest breakup that I could imagine.  It is the same scenario that everyone paints if we were to sign Marbury.  “If he is still a cancer, just cut him!”.

5) You’ll never convince me but give me 10 good reasons why we should sign Antoine

1) I’ve said this before but his ball handling and playmaking abilities would be perfect for our mechanical second unit.

2) Antoine’s presence on the second unit would give Doc the ability to cut back Paul and Ray’s minutes and rest them because they wouldn’t always be needed to bail out the second unit’s offense.

3) Wouldn’t it be great seeing Antoine and Paul hugging after the Celtics won their second straight NBA title? 

4) Antoine knew that Rick Pitino was bad news for the Celtics before we all did.  He was bummed about have to play of Pitino again and that should count for something.

5) Nobody is currently wearing #8 on our roster.

6) Antoine has the chance to surpass Danny Ainge in both career assists with the Celtics and could double the amount of points Ainge scored in a Celtics uniform.

7) What team could match the caliber of veteran leadership that the Celtics would have if they added Antoine to a roster that boasts Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen and Cassell?

8) Walker would be an additional six fouls for the C’s to use when they face future perennial all-star Andrew Bynum in the NBA Finals.

9) I asked Michael Holley at this year’s Celtics vs. Nuggets game if he would like to see Antoine back and he said no.  Don’t you want to see this guy be wrong for once?

10) Everyone condemns Antoine for the Celtics’ collapse during his last playoff run in Boston but I seem to remember him carrying us while Pierce was on the verge of a meltdown.  Doesn’t that entitle him to enjoy some time to enjoy the current and winning incarnation of the Celtics?

I know that people gag each time they have to read about this scenario but I would be remised if I didn’t chime in with my support for Antoine.  Danny, please do the right thing and bring Antoine back to the one and only place where he belongs.  Let’s watch him ‘em up and play with three all-stars, while we are on our way to a second title in two years.  I love the idea of that.

Still keeping the faith,

DRJMAN