Bill Walker got into it a little with Garnett in practice

[cordobes]

Walker actually has a reputation as an overly-emotional player. From http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Bill-Walker-552/

"The one major concern that arose from this past weekend’s games is something that has always been an issue when talking about Walker: his emotions. It has been well documented that Walker is a fiery competitor, but also at times very unstable with how he handles himself on the court. The specific incident that triggered this response came when a minor altercation occurred between Walker and Brian Butch of Wisconsin in which Walker was pushed to the floor by Butch. While things didn’t escalate between the two players, Walker’s demeanor clearly changed after this, often clapping wildly on defense perhaps as a means of firing himself up even more. These issues can be a reason for concern for GM’s in today’s image conscious NBA."

Yeps. I didn't watch that particular episode, but Walker is clearly too fierce and emotional on the court, in a bad way. The kind of player who wants to score on his direct opponent after every time he scores on him or goes for some crazy shot-block attempt because he feels the team needs a stop. He can make some ill-advised plays on both sides of the court when things are not going well, including, I presume, throwing some elbows (not saying it was what happened here, I have no idea). I'm not worried about the image thing, he won't start punching refs or anything of that kind, but this is also, I'd say mostly, a problem from a coaches perspective and it must be corrected.

Sounds a whole lot like a guy who he is practicing against...

Hopefully KG can help him with some personal experiences of learning how to control his emotions, and use them as a positive rather than a negative.

Hmm... after reading your first sentence, I didn't think KG was the player you had in mind. In spite of all his antics, KG always plays cool once the ball starts bouncing. You've rarely seen KG breaking the defensive help scheme or breaking an offensive play because he's fired up or frustrated, even during his first years in the league. Maybe the "bad Pierce" is a better comparison, no?

But yeah, the veterans will help, although I think the bulk of the work will be done by the coaches.

[zerophase]

i'm excited over bill walker. our coaching staff doesn't usually praise people for no reason; they're really blunt with it as seen with giddens. maybe they're just trying to get walker's value up so they can trade him, but who knows. i'm hoping he's actually just that [dang] good. please let him stay healthy.

[Sweet17]

Plenty of people were excited about Walker - even Washington fans who were upset he was gone. it's not like he was a nobody - he was projected lottery pick prior to his injury much like Powe.