Walker has made most of move to Dallas

"[Danny] was like, 'You've got good news and bad news," said Walker. "The good news is you're getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks. You're going to be on a great team. He started trying to feed me a bunch of [expletive]. At first, I was like, `I'll call you right back.' I couldn't believe he told me I got traded. I didn't want to talk while I was gambling.

"I get up and get in my car and call him back. I was like, 'What did you just tell me?' [He said], 'I just told you. I just traded you.' He tried to convince me it was going to be a good situation for me. Then, [Jim O'Brien] called me after that. He said, 'I never imagined coaching a game without you and I want us to remain close.' That was it. I knew he was stunned. After that, I just called my family and went home and packed my bag."

From that point, it was a post-trade whirlwind. A flight to Dallas. Introductions to Mavericks coach Don Nelson, new teammates, and a new town. For the first time in his career, Walker faced an uncertain future in unfamiliar surroundings. In a recent interview, Walker admitted his "biggest fear" was "how was I going to fit in, how was my playing time going to be."

Although he maintains the deal done by Ainge was "personal," Walker has made the best of his new situation. He returns to the FleetCenter tonight for the first time since the Oct. 20 trade, averaging 18.2 points, 10 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 37.7 minutes. He has blended almost perfectly with Dallas superstars Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and Antawn Jamison. In Nelson, Walker has a coach whose offensive creativity suits the point-forward's versatility.

"I feel my passion for the game is still very high," said Walker. "I want to still be one of the best players in this league, to be considered as an All-Star in this league. So, I wasn't ready to throw in the white flag. But it's been great. It's been better than I ever expected, as far as fitting into this system.

"I've got to do certain things for us to win, but it's different now. I think the biggest relief is knowing I don't have to score all the time. That's the biggest relief, knowing I don't have to score 20, 25 points for your team to have a chance to win. That's probably the best feeling. But besides that, you've got to bring it night in and night out. Because we're constantly learning each other. We're constantly trying to build consistency. We're trying to be the team that we are on paper."

That said, Walker enjoyed the challenge of putting up big offensive numbers for the Celtics. With the Mavericks, he has become a more efficient player, learning how to make the most of his minutes and shot attempts. Last season, Walker averaged 19.9 shots per game. This year in Dallas, he is taking 17 shots per game, though his scoring average (18.2) has dropped just 1.9 points per game. And the point-forward is committing fewer turnovers than he did last year (3.3-2.7).

Walker likes how his teammates "feed off each other," sending the ball to whichever one gets hot or can exploit a mismatch. That freestyle approach has placed Dallas atop the Midwest Division with a 15-8 record. Walker has been an integral part of the team's success, providing both a strong presence in the low post and verbal leadership.

The point-forward with a fondness for trash-talking has also given the Mavericks a little edginess, as was evident during the game against the Lakers Dec. 12. Walker engaged Shaquille O'Neal in some late-game verbal sparring with Dallas minutes away from defeating LA, 110-93, at Staples Center. Despite four future Hall of Famers suiting up for LA, Walker likes the Mavericks' chances of making it out of the West.

"I thought we were going to get a good player and he's passed every test so far, as far as I'm concerned," said Nelson. "He's not perfect, but nobody is. But what he brings to the party is a great guy. He's good in the locker room. He competes every night and wants to win. He's an awful good player. That's the bottom line.

"There are nights when I can see his warts, his deficiencies. Sometimes you want him to not take the gambles with the pass that he does. Maybe too many turnovers. Sometimes you say, `What in the world is he thinking?' or `Is he thinking at all?' All I've done was just talk to him about maybe you don't want to turn the ball over too much. And he went from, like, eight turnovers to, like, two a game. He's great. I love the guy. I didn't know he was that good a guy off the floor, great to be around, a leader in all the right ways."

Shortly after he arrived, Walker impressed Nelson with his generosity off the court. Nelson relayed an anecdote about a player Walker knew from his days in Boston who competed for the Dallas summer league team. The player did not have an NBA job when the season started. So Walker gave the player, who has a wife and two children, an envelope with $5,000. All Walker said was that he hoped the money would help the player take care of his family.

Some Boston fans still do not know the extent of Walker's charitable side. They choose to remember Walker for his turnovers, questionable 3-point shooting, and signature wiggle. So, Walker expects a mixed reaction when he steps onto the parquet tonight, a "50-50" split between boos and cheers. Although it undoubtedly will be a surreal experience unpacking in the visitors' locker room and an emotional contest against former teammates, Walker believes he can and will play his game. He knows the Mavericks play best when they play unselfishly, when no one player tries to dominate or dictate the action on the court.

"I'm not putting any pressure on myself to play a certain way [against Boston], as long as I come out of there with a `W', " said Walker. "We've got too much talent for me to try and isolate and try and go get 40 points. That's not the makeup of our team, for one individual to go out and get 40 points. We won't be able to win the game. It would just mess everything we do up. I've got to go in there and play the game that we play.

"Fan-wise, I think it will be 50-50. Because it wasn't a situation where I was in the papers demanding to be traded. It wasn't a situation where it lingered for a while. It wasn't the summertime. It's not like some of those other trades [where there's bad feeling]. I'm looking forward to playing there. I'm looking forward to playing against those guys. It's going to be crazy being on the whole visitors' side, weird, going against Obie, playing against Paul. You never thought that day would come when you play against guys you've been with for so long.

"You kind of wish you had the chance that these guys [Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Nash] had where they're together five, six years. You kind of wish they allowed us to play it out like that."

Despite recent comments criticizing Ainge and calling him "a snake," Walker said he had nothing to prove to the man who traded him. Walker added that his strong play has not been an attempt to prove Ainge wrong, but has resulted from being healthy and in shape. He can also thank the Celtics for providing extra motivation. Being swept by New Jersey in the second round last season gave Walker all the incentive he needed to come back in the best condition of his career, some 20 pounds lighter than when he headed for the offseason.

"I came in ready to play basketball, get back to my old self," said Walker. "A lot of people didn't understand that I got hurt for the first time, and I was really hurt [with a sprained right knee]. And it was tough. I couldn't practice the way I wanted to. I just got back in the right shape. And then, we got swept in the playoffs. That hurt. That's something that weighs on you. So, I wanted to come back with a vengeance. I was trying to come back for me personally. I felt like I had a bad second round of the playoffs. I wanted to come back and just get back to playing basketball and give it another shot."

Walker just didn't expect he would be doing exactly that in Dallas.