Bill Walker is a Celtic

[Celtics_85]

All I can say is that he looked as good as Mayo did in this game. You can't teach athleticism with power, and this kid has both. I'm not saying he will come in and dominate, but he is already strong enough to bang with NBA players and with all the talk of needing another SF might not be as significant as I first thought. Now I know what I saw out of this kid and if Giddens is better than him right now then I'm not worried as much as I was about a SF. There is only about 12 minutes behind Pierce and TA will get the bulk of those minutes, but there may need to be a time one of these guys might just have to put a few minutes on the court, much like Davis and Powe last year. We will have to see what Ainge would like to do and if he believes we need a veteran in front of these guys.

[Dogen]

Don't know if it's been said or not (since I'm not going to dig through 15 pages of towel-piss talk) but I hope Walker absolutely rocks for us and I hope they give him #8. This way, my old 'Toine jersey is relevant again.

I agree about his rockin' the joint-- can't wait to see him play and hope he stays with the team this year.

And #8 would be funny, but not as funny as your sig, which is now my all-time fav.

[hiphop1]

He got his number, 12.

[Dogen]

He got his number, 12.

Of course.

Well, maybe he'll be 1 1/2 x the player of 'Toine.

[C-West]

Since you found the game against USC, try to find the game early in the season when K-State played Cal. Walker was the best payer on the floor.

Ironically, I would say JR Giddens' looked spectacular against Cal, too, in the NIT game in March. I posted the box score from that game in the Giddens thread.

And before you say "yea but Cal sucks . . ." just remember that two members of Cal's frontcourt were drafted, Ryan Anderson in the first round and Devon Hardin in the second.

[Celtics_85]

C-West, I wish I could see that game since I have never seen Giddens play. I suspect Ainge really likes both these guys as Giddens was taken ahead of Walker. Ainge did say though that if not for the knee injury Walker would have been taken somewhere in the 20's, but at the same time Ainge has really only talked about Giddens when it comes to possibly getting playing time. I hope both these guys can be great players down the road as replacements for Pierce and Ray, and to play them with TA in the near future. As I said in my earlier post, Walker's game and athleticism remind me of a young Corey Maggette. I would love to find a game with Giddens so I can get an idea of what kind of player he is.

[GuyClinch]

hope both these guys can be great players down the road as replacements for Pierce and Ray, and to play them with TA in the near future.

This is some pretty unfair expectations being placed on these guys. The chance of replacing two top ten HOF players with the last first rounder and a second rounder is somewhere between slim and none. Let's hope they can be meaningful NBA contributors - at most maybe ONE guy breaks out ala Gilbert Arenas/Josh Howard. But both...wow.

PP was the best Celtic in the last 20+ years. Ray Allen is like the best buck ever..

[armageddon]

Considering that Ainge was trying to trade down to draft Giddens, these are basically 2 second rounders. If they can become consistent contributors or future trading chips (always hated that term) we will have done well.