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Gerald Wallace a big help
by bobheckler Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:36 am
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/nba_coverage/2015/01/gerald_wallace_a_big_help
Gerald Wallace a big help
Photo by: Matt Stone
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens talks with small forward Gerald Wallace
Sunday, January 25, 2015
By: Mark Murphy
Jae Crowder, sweatpants rolled halfway up his thighs, was in a zone.
The Celtics forward worked his way along the 3-point arc from shot-to-shot. Gerald Wallace was ahead, had advanced to the other side of the floor, and with each Crowder trey he shouted, “Pull your pants down!”
Another make.
“Pull ’em down!”
Crowder tried to concentrate, tried to stay in the zone, but finally missed at the top of the circle. Wallace, who has become everyone’s favorite uncle this year, howled.
He’s rare for a 32-year-old veteran who has lost his on-court role. Wallace genuinely loves the interaction and the opportunity to mentor younger teammates. Some vets, stranded on a rebuilding team, would understandably retreat.
But Wallace has honored Brad Stevens’ request to serve others, a favorite phrase the Celtics coach considers to be at the core of his own leadership philosophy.
And so Wallace serves, though there are days when he doesn’t feel like sharing or spreading his knowledge among those younger teammates who actually are playing for the Celtics.
“Some days you’re frustrated going to the gym and you want to play,” Wallace said recently. “There’s some nights when you’re frustrated after games because you wanted to play. You see the frustration your teammates are going through. Those are probably the toughest nights for me.”
That has amounted to a lot of tough nights with the rebuilding Celtics. In that mode, they have become a clearing house for other teams as president Danny Ainge strives to swap players for draft picks.
The on-court product suffers as a result, and that’s when Wallace understands he can be of the most use, on bad nights.
“Those are the nights I can be the most encouraging and talk to these guys — after games — on what we have to work on as a team,” he said.
Wallace has become a regular speaker in front of the assembled team. Sometimes, if Stevens feels another voice is needed, he doesn’t give the floor to an assistant. Wallace is called up to work the room.
“Pretty much all of the time,” he said. “When it’s not coach, it’s pretty much me. I talk to them, and we watch film, and I try to talk to them individually off to the side. I try to get them away from everything and try to talk to them and let them know everything that’s going on.”
The audience can be anyone. Wallace shares abutting lockers with Marcus Smart at home, and the Celtics rookie does a lot of nodding while the veteran shares knowledge this season. Any player who gets subbed out just before a timeout, from Kelly Olynyk to Phil Pressey, is going to be pulled aside for a private conference outside the huddle.
“A great vet,” Evan Turner said of Wallace. “Obviously he’s benefitted from some great vets himself, and he knows the right way to do it. I think he’s a legit person, a we-not-me kind of guy.
“He’s had his fair share of battles, but at the same time he could be negative and not pay attention at all. It shows his class, and it shows what kind of professional he is.
“He’s one of the few people who have your best interests at heart.”
This also is Wallace’s way of saying thanks to those who welcomed him into the league as a barely-used rookie in Sacramento during the 2001-02 season. When Wallace tells teammates about his original mentors in Sacramento, he’s blowing the dust off names in the NBA archives.
“Yeah, Vlade Divac and Chris Webber,” said Turner, who has heard Wallace make these ancient references. There’s Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie, too.
“Chris Webber, Vlade, Mike Bibby, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Doug Christie. Our whole team was made up of veterans, established veterans,” Wallace said. “(The team) gave me the runaround, but even when I wasn’t playing, they came over to tell me what I was supposed to do in game situations. That helped me out a whole lot.
“Bobby Jackson and especially Doug Christie. Doug is the one who told me there’s a million guys who can shoot, and a million guys who can put the ball in the basket. But there’s only a handful of guys who take pride in getting out there and playing defense. That was one of the biggest things for me because I never considered myself a great shooter. I prided myself on being a great team defender as well as a great individual defender and doing the things that help teams win. That’s the biggest thing that has kept me in the league for 14 years.”
And that’s what Wallace can share now, his survival guide.
“It’s been tough not playing, not being able to get out there on the court and help these guys through their experience,” he said. “But I have to be vocal as much as I can and try to talk to them, tell them about the things I see not only to improve the team but improve them as individual players.
“When I came into the league, that’s what my veterans did for me, so I thought that’s something I could do for my team now. I want to do it for the young players whether they’re playing or not.”
Powe puts name in Atlanta hat
Forbes Magazine released its list of valuations for NBA teams last week, and the Atlanta Hawks, worth $825 million, are 22nd on the list. The Celtics, at $1.7 billion, are fourth behind the Lakers, Knicks and Bulls.
But with the Hawks up for sale, and the quality of their current team considered, that value is sure to travel north, even with one of the most fickle fan bases in the NBA.
As a result, investment bankers everywhere are lining up bids, some with NBA players as the face of the group. Leon Powe heard that Grant Hill is heading one such group, which tells the former Celtics forward the market is open.
As such, Powe is at the head of another such group, lined up by investment banks. He knows the odds are thin, but he’s ambitious. His goal is to someday rise up in management — be it with the Celtics or another team — or ownership.
Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, a partner at one of the most renowned investment firms in the world in Bain Capital, has been there whenever Powe has a question.
“I’m getting my team together for an Atlanta bid,” Powe said. “I pulled one group together, and another approached me. But I’ve done a lot of that work. It will be tough, but we have to determine what the appropriate bid is going to be.”
In addition to Hill and Powe, former NBA star Chris Webber and former Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo reportedly are at the head of potential bid groups.
bob
MY NOTE: Just like everybody else I was not happy when Crash came as part of The Trade but he has been a good, albeit overpriced, Celtic and the role he is filling now on this very young team is pure gold.
Also, GO POWE! GO JUNKYARD DOG!! If he can pull it off I will giggle for a week, I kid you not. What an amazing role model. Kudos to Pages for taking him under his wing too. We have an amazing, wonderful franchise and organization to root for. Powe won a championship with us in 2008, now he's family forever. Love it.
.
Gerald Wallace a big help
Photo by: Matt Stone
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens talks with small forward Gerald Wallace
Sunday, January 25, 2015
By: Mark Murphy
Jae Crowder, sweatpants rolled halfway up his thighs, was in a zone.
The Celtics forward worked his way along the 3-point arc from shot-to-shot. Gerald Wallace was ahead, had advanced to the other side of the floor, and with each Crowder trey he shouted, “Pull your pants down!”
Another make.
“Pull ’em down!”
Crowder tried to concentrate, tried to stay in the zone, but finally missed at the top of the circle. Wallace, who has become everyone’s favorite uncle this year, howled.
He’s rare for a 32-year-old veteran who has lost his on-court role. Wallace genuinely loves the interaction and the opportunity to mentor younger teammates. Some vets, stranded on a rebuilding team, would understandably retreat.
But Wallace has honored Brad Stevens’ request to serve others, a favorite phrase the Celtics coach considers to be at the core of his own leadership philosophy.
And so Wallace serves, though there are days when he doesn’t feel like sharing or spreading his knowledge among those younger teammates who actually are playing for the Celtics.
“Some days you’re frustrated going to the gym and you want to play,” Wallace said recently. “There’s some nights when you’re frustrated after games because you wanted to play. You see the frustration your teammates are going through. Those are probably the toughest nights for me.”
That has amounted to a lot of tough nights with the rebuilding Celtics. In that mode, they have become a clearing house for other teams as president Danny Ainge strives to swap players for draft picks.
The on-court product suffers as a result, and that’s when Wallace understands he can be of the most use, on bad nights.
“Those are the nights I can be the most encouraging and talk to these guys — after games — on what we have to work on as a team,” he said.
Wallace has become a regular speaker in front of the assembled team. Sometimes, if Stevens feels another voice is needed, he doesn’t give the floor to an assistant. Wallace is called up to work the room.
“Pretty much all of the time,” he said. “When it’s not coach, it’s pretty much me. I talk to them, and we watch film, and I try to talk to them individually off to the side. I try to get them away from everything and try to talk to them and let them know everything that’s going on.”
The audience can be anyone. Wallace shares abutting lockers with Marcus Smart at home, and the Celtics rookie does a lot of nodding while the veteran shares knowledge this season. Any player who gets subbed out just before a timeout, from Kelly Olynyk to Phil Pressey, is going to be pulled aside for a private conference outside the huddle.
“A great vet,” Evan Turner said of Wallace. “Obviously he’s benefitted from some great vets himself, and he knows the right way to do it. I think he’s a legit person, a we-not-me kind of guy.
“He’s had his fair share of battles, but at the same time he could be negative and not pay attention at all. It shows his class, and it shows what kind of professional he is.
“He’s one of the few people who have your best interests at heart.”
This also is Wallace’s way of saying thanks to those who welcomed him into the league as a barely-used rookie in Sacramento during the 2001-02 season. When Wallace tells teammates about his original mentors in Sacramento, he’s blowing the dust off names in the NBA archives.
“Yeah, Vlade Divac and Chris Webber,” said Turner, who has heard Wallace make these ancient references. There’s Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie, too.
“Chris Webber, Vlade, Mike Bibby, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Doug Christie. Our whole team was made up of veterans, established veterans,” Wallace said. “(The team) gave me the runaround, but even when I wasn’t playing, they came over to tell me what I was supposed to do in game situations. That helped me out a whole lot.
“Bobby Jackson and especially Doug Christie. Doug is the one who told me there’s a million guys who can shoot, and a million guys who can put the ball in the basket. But there’s only a handful of guys who take pride in getting out there and playing defense. That was one of the biggest things for me because I never considered myself a great shooter. I prided myself on being a great team defender as well as a great individual defender and doing the things that help teams win. That’s the biggest thing that has kept me in the league for 14 years.”
And that’s what Wallace can share now, his survival guide.
“It’s been tough not playing, not being able to get out there on the court and help these guys through their experience,” he said. “But I have to be vocal as much as I can and try to talk to them, tell them about the things I see not only to improve the team but improve them as individual players.
“When I came into the league, that’s what my veterans did for me, so I thought that’s something I could do for my team now. I want to do it for the young players whether they’re playing or not.”
Powe puts name in Atlanta hat
Forbes Magazine released its list of valuations for NBA teams last week, and the Atlanta Hawks, worth $825 million, are 22nd on the list. The Celtics, at $1.7 billion, are fourth behind the Lakers, Knicks and Bulls.
But with the Hawks up for sale, and the quality of their current team considered, that value is sure to travel north, even with one of the most fickle fan bases in the NBA.
As a result, investment bankers everywhere are lining up bids, some with NBA players as the face of the group. Leon Powe heard that Grant Hill is heading one such group, which tells the former Celtics forward the market is open.
As such, Powe is at the head of another such group, lined up by investment banks. He knows the odds are thin, but he’s ambitious. His goal is to someday rise up in management — be it with the Celtics or another team — or ownership.
Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, a partner at one of the most renowned investment firms in the world in Bain Capital, has been there whenever Powe has a question.
“I’m getting my team together for an Atlanta bid,” Powe said. “I pulled one group together, and another approached me. But I’ve done a lot of that work. It will be tough, but we have to determine what the appropriate bid is going to be.”
In addition to Hill and Powe, former NBA star Chris Webber and former Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo reportedly are at the head of potential bid groups.
bob
MY NOTE: Just like everybody else I was not happy when Crash came as part of The Trade but he has been a good, albeit overpriced, Celtic and the role he is filling now on this very young team is pure gold.
Also, GO POWE! GO JUNKYARD DOG!! If he can pull it off I will giggle for a week, I kid you not. What an amazing role model. Kudos to Pages for taking him under his wing too. We have an amazing, wonderful franchise and organization to root for. Powe won a championship with us in 2008, now he's family forever. Love it.
.
bobheckler- Posts : 61564
Join date : 2009-10-28
Re: Gerald Wallace a big help
by Sam Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:53 pm
One has to wonder how much is being contributed to the development of the Celtics by current assistant coaches versus how much could be contributed by Crash as an assistant coach. I wonder whether there's some way the Celtics could convince him to retire and forfeit the last year on his contract in return for a long-term contract that would catapult him on a coaching career. I don't even know if it's legal, and I understand cynics will say he would never sacrifice all that loot. But I suspect he's not begging pennies on the street corner. And perhaps the right offer, centered around a relatively easy immersion into the coaching arena, might offer at least some enticement.
Sam
Sam
Sam- Admin
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Join date : 2009-10-10 -
Re: Gerald Wallace a big help
by Sloopjohnb Sun Jan 25, 2015 7:40 pm
Wallace can have both. He probably knows that his current bloated contract may well be the last one he'll get and is planning his next step.
A position as an assistant coach does not have to be with the Celtics.
A position as an assistant coach does not have to be with the Celtics.
Sloopjohnb- Posts : 638
Join date : 2013-12-29
Similar topics» Does Gerald Wallace Still Have Any Value?
» Article on Gerald Wallace
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» Article on Gerald Wallace
» Gerald Wallace: Seventh Man of the Year?
» Any Gerald Wallace Trade Would Be Expensive
» Five Reasons Why Gerald Wallace Will Rebound
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