boston.balla
03-10-2010, 10:00 AM
Antoine Walker shimmied his way to Puerto Rico (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Antoine-Walker-shimmied-his-way-to-Puerto-Rico?urn=nba,226915)
By Trey Kerby (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie?author=Trey+Kerby)
http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nba_experts__47/ept_sports_nba_experts-224020753-1268158330.jpg?ym6NCzCD5WEE5TPb
The last we heard from Antoine Walker (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3112/)(notes) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3112/news), he was in massive debt (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Former-Celtics-star-Antoine-Walker-is-broke-and-?urn=nba,198509) — $4 million (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/10/25/former_celtics_star_antoine_walker_pursued_by_cred itors_as_wealth_vanishes/?page=full), massive. Since then, not much.
He hasn't played in an NBA game in more than two years (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200802190MIN.html), and the last transaction involving the former Celtic star was a buyout (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Grizzlies-Antoine-Walker-expects-buyout?urn=nba,129168) after not playing a minute for the Memphis Grizzlies (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/mem/).
But according to Peter May's Yahoo! Sports report (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-96draftclass030810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns), Walker is playing professional basketball again. Kind of.
According to reports coming out of the island, Walker's deal with the Guaynabo Mets is for one month, guaranteed, as they want to see what kind of shape he's in. He is reportedly being paid $7,000 a week. Another former NBA player, Marcus Fizer, also joined the Mets at the same time. They started the season 4-0 according to the standings posted on Latinbasket.com.
Walker at least has a profile on LatinBasket (http://www.latinbasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=PUR&PlayerID=8852), so there's something happening there. However, there's no stats or really anything except a headshot. Very strange.
According to May's report, Walker tried to land a deal in the Chinese Basketball Association, new home of Stephon Marbury (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3099/)(notes) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3099/news). With their inflated statistics and hefty paychecks (http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/2010/03/chinese-basketball-association.jsp), the CBA would have been a perfect fit for 'Toine. But it wasn't meant to be.
Instead, Walker's working as a hired gun where he'll have to prove that he's in basketball condition, which has never been the big guy's specialty. He'll have to prove something, as a month of playing basketball for $7,000 a week will leave him, oh, just $3.95 million short of repaying his debts. Furthermore, Walker still has a DUI case (http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/03/charles_barkley.php) against him, and is still awaiting trial (http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/09/court_date_pushed_back_in_anto.html) for his arrest for writing bad checks at casinos.
Let's just hope 'Toine can revive the shimmy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHtfuv36Dkc&feature=fvw) in Puerto Rico. Then, maybe, he can turn his life around. I think that's how the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDmCSvqhhoI) goes.
By Trey Kerby (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie?author=Trey+Kerby)
http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nba_experts__47/ept_sports_nba_experts-224020753-1268158330.jpg?ym6NCzCD5WEE5TPb
The last we heard from Antoine Walker (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3112/)(notes) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3112/news), he was in massive debt (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Former-Celtics-star-Antoine-Walker-is-broke-and-?urn=nba,198509) — $4 million (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/10/25/former_celtics_star_antoine_walker_pursued_by_cred itors_as_wealth_vanishes/?page=full), massive. Since then, not much.
He hasn't played in an NBA game in more than two years (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200802190MIN.html), and the last transaction involving the former Celtic star was a buyout (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Grizzlies-Antoine-Walker-expects-buyout?urn=nba,129168) after not playing a minute for the Memphis Grizzlies (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/mem/).
But according to Peter May's Yahoo! Sports report (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-96draftclass030810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns), Walker is playing professional basketball again. Kind of.
According to reports coming out of the island, Walker's deal with the Guaynabo Mets is for one month, guaranteed, as they want to see what kind of shape he's in. He is reportedly being paid $7,000 a week. Another former NBA player, Marcus Fizer, also joined the Mets at the same time. They started the season 4-0 according to the standings posted on Latinbasket.com.
Walker at least has a profile on LatinBasket (http://www.latinbasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=PUR&PlayerID=8852), so there's something happening there. However, there's no stats or really anything except a headshot. Very strange.
According to May's report, Walker tried to land a deal in the Chinese Basketball Association, new home of Stephon Marbury (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3099/)(notes) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3099/news). With their inflated statistics and hefty paychecks (http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/2010/03/chinese-basketball-association.jsp), the CBA would have been a perfect fit for 'Toine. But it wasn't meant to be.
Instead, Walker's working as a hired gun where he'll have to prove that he's in basketball condition, which has never been the big guy's specialty. He'll have to prove something, as a month of playing basketball for $7,000 a week will leave him, oh, just $3.95 million short of repaying his debts. Furthermore, Walker still has a DUI case (http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/03/charles_barkley.php) against him, and is still awaiting trial (http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/09/court_date_pushed_back_in_anto.html) for his arrest for writing bad checks at casinos.
Let's just hope 'Toine can revive the shimmy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHtfuv36Dkc&feature=fvw) in Puerto Rico. Then, maybe, he can turn his life around. I think that's how the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDmCSvqhhoI) goes.