The New York Post ran a small article about Bill Walker, and the issues he saw with last season's pitiful Knicks squad. I'm sure he could've pointed out a handful of flaws, but having spent time in the Celtics locker room, the biggest missing piece was veteran leadership:
Bill Walker, one of the season's pleasant revelations, said he believes one of the reasons for the Knicks' 29-53 final record was a lack of leadership in the locker room.
Walker, who came from Boston in the Nate Robinson trade on Feb. 18, told The Post it was jarring after spending two seasons in Boston with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to see none of the Knicks veterans stepping up in the leadership department.
"What I can tell from over there (in Boston), KG, Paul, and Ray take the initiative every day,'' Walker said. "You just had guys be more accountable for everything. That's where it starts. The head coach can only say so much. You have to have guys in the locker room take what the coach says and makes sure it gets applied. There weren’t enough leaders in the locker room.''
I don't have any jokes or sarcastic comments to make about this. It's just nice to keep tabs on former Celtics, especially those that were fan favorites; regardless of number of minutes actually spent on the court.
It's also a great reminder that, even though we may be old, we don't lack in veteran presence, and that's something you can't just acquire. Unless, of course, you have some draft picks, Wally Szczerbiak and Theo Ratliff's expiring contract to swap. Then it's actually not all that difficult.
