There has been some speculation as to where Antoine Walker would end up, such as with the Nets. Apparently, the Mavericks have worked out a deal with the Hawks that would bring PG Jason Terry to Dallas. Terry is getting better and better at the point, and his up-tempo game will fit nicely with Dallas, but what I can't figure is why on earth the Hawks would deal him??? :huh:
Especially for a dude like Walker. Antoine is flashy and when he's hot, forget about it. But you can bounce the ball off his head when he plays defense.
02:56 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 3, 2004
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
Antoine Walker’s brief career with the Mavericks is about to end.
Sources said that Dallas and Atlanta have agreed to a deal that would send Walker and guard Tony Delk to the Hawks for point guard Jason Terry, forward Alan Henderson and a first-round pick. The pick, which once belonged to Philadelphia, is lottery protected and will become available to Dallas at some point over the next three years.
Officials with both clubs were in the process of contacting the players involved. The league office is closed Tuesday, meaning the trade can’t be completed until the office opens Wednesday and the deal can be reported.
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Walker was a talented but ill-fitting piece to the Mavericks' puzzle this past season. Like Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, who has since left in free agency, he needed the ball in his hands to be successful. That proved to be too many players to accommodate when all were on the court at the same time.
Walker spent the majority of the season at point forward, a concept coach Don Nelson implemented during his days in Milwaukee more than 20 years ago. Nelson praised Walker as the most talented point forward he had coached roughly midway through the season.
But putting the ball in Walker’s hands took away from what Nowitzki and Nash could accomplish. The offense swung back in their direction late in the season and Walker wound up at center. It was clear he didn’t fit into the Mavericks' plans for 2004-05.
Terry does. He’s the sort of scoring point guard who has flourished in Nelson’s system. Terry averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds for the Hawks last season.
Nelson has lobbied for a veteran point guard so the club doesn’t have to throw first-round pick Devin Harris into the fire as a rookie. Terry, who has outstanding quickness and does a good job of running the pick-and-roll, fits the bill.
It remains to be seen what, if anything, Henderson can contribute. He played only six games last season before being sidelined with a bad knee. The power forward has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, managing to stay healthy for a full season just twice in his nine years in the league.
What makes Henderson attractive is that he’s in the final year of his contract. If he can’t play, 80 percent of his $8.2 million contract is covered by insurance.
