Walker speaking the truth!!!!

[CoolD]

Tippy is right. The Heat shouldn't have traded him away, but not because he was such a valuable asset to the team. Its simply due to the fact that his contract expires sooner than Blount's.

Ricky has been putting up the numbers that was expected from Walker, but the only difference is that he is doing it on a worse team. His contribution would have been a lot more beneficial if the Heat were still contenders.

Walker is kidding himself if he feels that the Heat would have been in a better situation if he was playing for the Heat instead of Ricky.

Ricky could be replaced by Luke Jackson and Jwill could be replaced by Smush Parker and the Heat wouldn't suck anymore than they do now. The problem isn't the loss of Walker or the current play of Ricky. Its the entire team that is the problem with NBDL players being given more minutes than they should be getting when they would be collecting DNPs on any other team.

The mistake that Riley made was letting impact players like Posey and Kapono go, and bringing in Ricky to a depleted team.

Sorry to rain on everyone's hating parade on Walker, but he was an impact player in our Championship run, he was actually a way more of a impact player than Pono in that run.

I think Walker's point is the destruction of the whole team.

Am not even saying trading Walker was not necessary considering his weight issues this coming year, but the trade was awful. I even made a point about this right when it happened to be attacked by most Heat fans for saying so.

[D-Wade]

He's right about everything except for the part where he mentions himself.

His fat ass needed to go.

It's James Posey that really pisses me off. I still can't believe we let him walk.

[dflash3]

-= original quote snipped =-

Sorry to rain on everyone's hating parade on Walker, but he was an impact player in our Championship run, he was actually a way more of a impact player than Pono in that run.

I think Walker's point is the destruction of the whole team.

Am not even saying trading Walker was not necessary considering his weight issues this coming year, but the trade was awful. I even made a point about this right when it happened to be attacked by most Heat fans for saying so.

Pono wasn't a contributer during the 2006 season, but that wasn't the focus of my statement.

My emphasis was on the players that got away from the Heat during the 2007 season. Whether Pono was a contributer during the championship season is irrelevant when it comes to the topic of whether he could have been a valuable contributer to the team after his emergence as a player.

During the 2007 season Pono and Posey were more valuable to the Heat with Kapono's deadly efficiency from the three point line and Posey's energetic defense.

Walker's assistance in winning the championship is appreciated and nobody can deny that he is a champion, but it doesn't change the fact that he underperformed last season. He wasn't worth his contract and was a liability on the court. The same goes for Shaq right now, since he isn't giving the level of production that is expected from a player earning 20 million a year.

And during the 2007 season Walker wasn't an impact player. He was one during the 2006 season, but what he did in 2006 season was irrelevant in 2007 since it was a new season. The loss of Pono and Posey hurt the Heat while the only negative of the trade for Ricky was the longer contract. Aside from that there isn't really wasn't any loss in talent.

So Walker is right in regards to Riley making a mistake by letting Pono and Posey go, since they showed they could contribute to the team. But, Walker didn't show that ability during his final season, so he doesn't deserve to be in the discussion. The same goes for Payton, since it became clear that despite his help in winning a title that it was time for him to retire.

Once again this is just regarding players performances during the 2007 season and whether it looked as though they would continue to be a positive impact on the team in future seasons to come. This is not an argument about the contribution of players during the title run.

[PPAW4Life]

Ok fine Walker wasn't an impact player last year, but Pono, Posey, Jones all had their share of impact to help sustain some kind of winning run while Wade was out hurt last year.

So why did the owner or front office not keep ANY single one of those 3 players?

That is what Walker is talking about where the fault lies in Riley for not getting players.

You guys got Penny, Luke Jackson and Smush......those are the guys your front office brought in to help an aging Shaq and a recovering Wade......

That's not enough....it's not enough to suck decently.

[HeatInOhio]

So why did the owner or front office not keep ANY single one of those 3 players? That is what Walker is talking about where the fault lies in Riley for not getting players.

As I already posted, Arison isn't down w/ paying the luxury tax. He wants to get under it. Not much Riley can do when he's already at the tax level. We will probably see JWill and Davis expire and walk away for nothing because of it. There's only so much you can do when the boss man tells you not to spend.

[realfung]

See how Heats turn around is one of the top storyline next year.

[DBurks2818]

JWill has to be traded for several reasons:

1.) Trading him for a smaller deal (highly feasible) is one of the only ways to get under the tax this year.

2.) Trading him for two deals that combine to make a smaller salary gets the team under the tax this year and helps fill out the roster next year, which would be really hard if he and Davis just expired because there isn't enough money for so many roster spots without repeating the disaster of this year.

3.) He's got the most valuable contract and can bring back the best help for the future.

4.) It's unlikely that he'll re-sign for the Heat's price and vice-versa.