When will the Celtics put Bill Walker on the active roster?
by celtics #1 on Dec 6, 2009 7:00 PM EST
Email
PrintI am really interested in seeing Walker get some minutes this year, so we can see what type of player he finally is.
I think the kid has alot of talent and really want to see him get a chance this year to show it on the court.
I think the Celtics really need a young small forward who can guard big, athletic, strong small forwards like Lebron (when Pierce goes to the bench or gets in foul trouble) and think Walker can do the job since he is a young, strong, athletic small forward.
I also like his offense game of driving strong to the hoop which is what the C's need more of instead of shooting all those outside shots (like they did when they were in their slump a couple of weeks ago).
Does any body know if he his full healthy from his knee injury, how he is playing during in the minor league and when the C's plan on calling putting him on the roster?
Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.
23 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
He’s not ready to be a full-time NBA player.
He needs time to develop, and he’s getting that chance right now in the D-League. His assignment there has little to do with his health. He’s starting off strong in Maine, but unless injuries decimate the Celtics, I don’t expect to see him getting a lot of playing time in Boston this year.
He’s just not ready.
Celtics need...
a small forward who can defend, big strong athletic small forwards and Walker the perfect player to do the job since he is a tough defender and very athletic.
For this reason I think the Celtics need to give him some minutes since he can help fill in a defensive weakness the team has.
Also having his young legs on the court would be great especially considering all the vets we have on the team and all the young athletic small forwards we face on opposing teams that give us fits at times..
where is billy ..
i to want to see what walker has to offer he is talented but to think he can gaurd lebron is insane lets not forget he like leon powe have the knees of a 90 year old man ….
I disagree...
I do not think having Walker guard players powerfull small forwards like Lebron is a insane suggestion.
I do not think he can stop Lebron of course (who really can) but I do think Walker is the exact type of player the Celtics need and do not have on the bench currently who can step in for Pierce and slow Lebron down a bit, with his athletic, strong body and very physical defensive capabilities.
Right now if we were playing Cleveland and Pierce was in foul trouble, was hurt or was in need of a blow and Lebron was going crazy on us offensively, who would you put off our bench to guard Lebron?
Daniels has the length but not the bulk and Tony Allen has no length or bulk to do the job.
I on the other hand would love the idea of having Walker on our bench to see him use his 6 fouls to play very physical defense against Lebron and muscle him up in a attempt to throw him off his game.
I also do not think his knees are as bad as Powes,.
Time will tell but for now lets give the kid a chance before we give up on him due to health reasons since he is still so young.
Now is the time to try him
The early part of the season is when the team should be experimenting with different roles and seeing who can do what. There is no light that will pop on or league wide message that will be sent saying Walker is ready to be a good perimeter defender. The only way we’ll know is to give him meaningful minutes against real opponents.
Youth is where the athleticism is found, you can’t bemoan the lack of a tough athletic defender then claim a player is too young to fill the role.
by BigRedDog42 on Dec 7, 2009 8:53 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Why, exactly, should the Celtics go fiddling around with the roster of one of the best teams in the NBA just to give Walker playing time? That’s what the D-League is for.
What is the D-League for?
He’s not playing as his role, focusing on defense of top stars off the bench. The D-League right now is teaching him to be a top scorer on a terrible team. And even if he did well at that, everyone would disregard it as a meaningless accomplishment because it’s the D-League. The D-League does not develop, it’s just storage.
And you should always be looking to improve the team. A misguided belief in your own perfection normally precedes an upset.
Who’s your “everyone”? People on CelticsBlog.com? I don’t think Celtics scouts and personnel would discount it. They care what their professionals think, not about fan comments on blogs. The fact that most fans ignore the D-League is irrelevant to them.
I’m not sure where your obviously negative bias against the D-League as a development league has come from. There are a number of moderately successfully NBA players with D-League experience. There aren’t any all-stars, this is true, but the league has only operated as a farm system for a few years now. Give it time before you condemn. If it still hasn’t produced any very successful NBA players in 10 years, you might have a point, but right now you should not.
I’ve been to D-League games watching Walker play in person this year, and they’re teaching him to play defense on a great team. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Have you even watched him play this year? Do you even know where he’s playing in the D-League right now, and what his record is? The Red Claws’ coach is Austin Ainge. Do you really think he’d be using a Celtic assignee in a way that Danny didn’t want him to?
Again, how would giving him more time improve the team? I’ve seen no evidence that the Celtics would have won more games so far this year if they’d played Walker. You also have to consider a baseball term – Value Over Replacement Player. Who would Walker replace that would lead to a vast improvement for the 17-4 Celtics?
You seem to be preoccupied with winning November and December games but they don’t give out fall championships. Yes, Walker would not have won any more games in November but the point is to develop him to play later. This comes in handy when you need a defender off the bench and you have an injury prone swingman on the bench (who is already out for a significant portion).
Yes the D-League is valuable in that playing basketball is better than no basketball. But having him be the lead scoring option on a bad team does not translate into becoming a good bench defender. JR Giddens dominated in the D League last year but obviously that doesn’t mean much for the Celtics this year. This is not baseball where you play you’re role independent of the talent around you. He’s getting reps at a role that isn’t helpful right now.
Also, the Red Claws are not solely affiliated with the Celtics. It is just as connected to the Bobcats. Just because an Ainge is coaching it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s just an extension of the Celtics.
He would be much better served practicing with the team he’s actually on and playing against real talent. Then, he’d be ready to step up when injuries happen instead of miles away learning different schemes.
I’m preoccupied with winning games, period, and they count the same regardless of what month they’re in. Stacking up the win total now will help the team if down the stretch they face a similar (or worse) injury situation as last year.
Here’s getting more development getting playing time in Portland than practice in Boston (which he’s already gotten). The Claws may not be solely affiliated with the Celtics, but you may have noticed the ties between the Claws and the Celts run a little deeper than their ties with the Bobcats. Officially they’re equal, but in reality the Red Claws are part of the Celtics family, not the Bobcats family.
You’re right that the D-League is not minor league baseball, which exists solely for development. However, Coach Ainge won’t use Ajinca, Walker, or any NBA player in a way that the parent team disapproves of – if he does they’ll just yank them back. He knows that. He won’t sit them a lot, or play them too much, or use them in a way that’s radically different than the way they’d be used in the NBA team.
Walker is not, in fact, the lead scorer on the team, and in baseball your role is not really independent of the talent around you. That’s a common misconception by people who don’t really understand baseball.
If I can drive down in one day to go to Celtics games from an hour north of Portland, it won’t be a big deal. If a player can’t adapt and learn he won’t last long in the NBA regardless. The fact that you, and a lot of Walker boosters seem unable to recognize, is that he’s not able to do much to help the Celtics now, and Doc’s job is to win games, not help Bill Walker. If those two goals are in conflict guess what? Walker gets sent to the D-League and you don’t get to see him sit on the bench for fourty minutes a game.
Correction: Walker may be the average leading scorer on the team so far, but that’s not by much, and there have been several games where he was FAR from the leading scorer.
Are you watching the Claws games? If not, how do you know how Walker is being used? And how do you know how the Celtics plan to use him? Are you Doc or Danny? Any player that can’t help the Celtics now shouldn’t be on the team. This is the regular season of the best team in the east, not preseason or training camp. You get time if you contribute, and if you can’t you get sent down or get cut.
Some people seem determined to see the D-League fail. I really don’t understand that attitude. I think it’s pathetic, frankly, and I’d say that regardless of whether there was a team in my state or not.
I'm not determined to see it fail
I’d just like them to pick a side. If they really want to be about development, then it should be one affiliate per team, with the whole thing vertically integrated. Also, allowing call ups and rehab stints. Much more similar to baseball.
But if it wants to be a just a smaller league that’s focused on being entertainment, then there should be no team affiliations, with every team able to decide who to sign and how to use them.
Either way, it would be a good thing that I’d fully support, but I can’t get behind this weird hybrid. Right now, it’s trying to be all things to all people and when you try to do that, you fail everyone.
I agree
I think they’re trying to get to the point where the D-League is 30 teams, one per NBA team, but even the NBA can’t afford to carry a dozen financial losers just to have a proper development league. They’re going to need time to get there, and until then they’re going to be stuck with this hybrid model, unfortunately.
Because...
Walker gives us what we need a young, big ,strong, athletic defender who can guard young, big, strong offensive players who give Pierce and Daniels fits at times that’s why.
agree 100%
The kid is talented, lets put him on the floor and see what he has ASAP.
Guys, we know what he has, and he’s not NBA-ready. Just because you haven’t been paying attention doesn’t mean the Celtics don’t know his abilities. Talent isn’t skill, and he needs to vastly improve his skills before he’s ready for the NBA.
The Celtics are 17-4 without him; clearly the team doesn’t need him. The Celtics’ job isn’t to show off younger players, it’s to win games. If Danny and Doc thought Walker would be helpful in that area, they’d pull him up – but they don’t. For some reason, I have this feeling that they know his abilities better than random fans.
It's your opnion Walker is....
is not NBA ready.
Myself and others fans making comments on this post believe he is NBA ready.
Walker is probably the best wing defender on the club who can guard, athletic, tough, strong small forwards that give Pierce and Daniels so much problems since he is very a young, athletic strong and a very talented hard nosed defender.
He does not have to develop those skills as I and many believe he already has them and can show it on the court now if given the minutes.
Also of course Doc and Danny probably in general know better than us random fans, who on thier team is talented enough to get floor time and who is not, but they are not always right.
For example Doc and Danny thought Patrick Obryant and Mikki Moore last year and Robert Swift this year in training camp were players that were potentially talented to contribute to the team when many random fans like my self and other new they were stiffs.
So as you can see yes Doc and Danny are the experts but they can be wrong at times, that’s why we random fans are still entitled to our opinions, like in our belief that Walker is talented enough currently to help the team now (especially as wing defender which is a team).
Its for this reason us random fans have the right to voice our opinions, after all this is the purpose of this blog, for fans no matter how right or wrong they are to express their view points on topics concerning the C’s.
Going over my post I’m not sure where I enunciated a fascist philosophy that you did not have the right to your opinion. Can you point that out to me? You’re entitled to your opinion because this is America, not because Celtics management is imperfect. It goes back to that whole Constitution thing.
I just pointed out that you were wrong, and you are. Come up to Maine for a game sometime, watch Walker play for thirty-forty minutes, then tell me he’s ready for the NBA and exactly who he should replace that’s getting time now.
Seriously. Any time. Come on up. Or even just watch a game for free online at the D-League website. I have trouble believing that any real basketball fan can watch Walker play and not notice how inconsistent and uneven his play is at both ends of the court. I don’t think anyone can watch him for any length of time and then judge that he’s ready to make significant contributions to improve the conference-leading 17-4 Celtics. He may be ready for the NBA – you may be right about that. Just not the Celtics.
I wouldn’t count those examples as them being wrong, by the way. In two of those examples the players didn’t ultimately end up on the team. Being in training camp is hardly the same as being on the opening day roster. Lots of guys are in training camp; it’s the whole point of training camp. To say that someone being in training camp but not on the roster is a mistake is a little inane. That always happens.
I wouldn’t count Moore as a mistake, either. He did contribute to the team last year. I was at most of those games; I saw him do it. So I disagree with both your premise, and your examples in proof of that premise.
A few points.......
1st) When you said you believed (Doc and Danny) know Walkers ability better than Random fans do, I took it as you were trying to say that random fans like my self and others do not know what we are talking about and should not voice our opinions.
I am glad though you clarified your statement and wrote that was not what you meant and that you agree that our opinions are worthy of mention also.
2nd) Everyone has their opinions on players, if you think that Walker is not ready to play for the C’s that’s fine, but I respectively disagree since I have seen enough of Bill Walker playing in NBA games to believe though his offensive skills need to improve, that he has at this moment enough developed defensive and physical ability and skills to help the C’s fill a dire weakness they have right now which is the need to find a young, strong, athleticis defender (which Walker is) to defend against opposing young, strong athletic scorers that give Pierce and Daniels fits at times.
When you say Walker may be ready for the NBA , but not the Celtic’s is puzzling because he is the exact type of player (a big, strong, athletic wing defender) the Celtics are in need of, that’s why I see no harm in letting Walker getting some court time so we can see what the kid has, especially now that Daniels is out hurt
3rd) My examples of how Doc and Danny do not always get it right regarding determining what players have talent like with the examples of Moore, Obryant and Swift (who turned out to be busts) are perfect examples of how wrong your point is that Doc and Danny know more about player talent then random fans.
How you can say otherwise is puzzling.
4th) You are incorrect when you state that only 1 out of those 3 players I mentioned made the Celtics roster.
Obryant was Docs and Danny big man project for the 1st part of last year and was on the active roster.
Moore was also on the active roster after being signed late in the year as our big man to help fill in for the injured Garnett.
Only Swift did not make the active roster after his short summer camp stint this year.
5th) If you think Moore was was not a mistake you are in the minority as the majority of Celtic fans like myself think he was a big mistake big time.
Great points fordescort.....
points 1-5.
I agree with you 100%
The Celtics need a wing defender badly since Pierce has problems defending against fast small forwards and Daniels against bigger, stronger small forwards.
Walker is a physical specimen and can guard both big strong small forwards with his brute strength and muscular build and defend quick small forwards since he is also lighting quick.
He is exactly the type of player the Celtics can use right now and heading into the playoffs.
Considering all of the above and the fact that Daniels is out hurt at the moment giving Walker playing time now to see what he can do is a no brainer !
I agree with all the Walker supporters...
I think they like me and the majority of Celtic fans want to see Walker get some playing time.
He has paid his dues being in the minors for 2 years now , its time for Walker to finally get some NBA action.
No one is saying he is allstar now or will become one, but many believe Walker has the raw talent to be a player in the NBA and can help the C’s fill a void right now which is the need for a defender who can guard against athletic 3’s.
For those who think that Walker is not ready for the NBA, the only way we will know for sure is ………………… you guessed it by giving Walker playing time so he can prove to us if he is worthy of playing for the C’s at this time or not.
I think if given the chance he will prove all his critics wrong and supporters like me and many on this post and the majority of Celtic fans right.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Another day of a combination of Jeremy Lin’s last name and mental instability
- Ben Wallace is set to break an NBA record, and retire after 2011-12
- Video: Chris Paul and Bar Refaeli on a trampoline for some reason
- Video: LeBron James and Blake Griffin help us wish you a happy Valentine’s Day
- Chris Paul is recruiting J.R. Smith to the Clippers
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
