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Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:47 pm
by Universe
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2477 ... ublished=1Could the former NBA star Bill Walton be in New Jersey helping with the development much like Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have been doing with their respective teams?
Buried in the hustle and bustle of the paper, Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger wrote about Lawrence Frank’s interest Bill Walton as he has pushed Lopez into watching the former UCLA Bruins stars early videos on improving his post defence and offence.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:56 pm
by vincecarter4pres
That would certainly be an interesting possibility...
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 2:21 am
by Jersey Generals
That would be awesome.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 2:25 am
by NetsForce
Payton working with T-Will... Walton working with Lopez... Not bad... Not bad at all...
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 2:05 pm
by ecuhus1981
Jersey Generals wrote:That would be awesome.
+1
I believe that Frank is committed to emphasizing Lopez in our offense this season, but I'm not convinced that our coach knows how. An HoF bigman of Bill's caliber around to tutor Brook (and heck, maybe Yi, Sean and Josh could learn a thing or two as well...

) is exactly what we need, if we're going to be successful for the long-term.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 2:42 pm
by Preludepunk27
Do we have proof he's there? I think this guy from Bleacher Report may have misinterpretted Dave's article. When I read it, I was under the impression that Frank gave him tapes of Bill (and some other guys) and told him to study them which Brook has done a lot of this summer apparently.
Maybe I read the article fast or was the (Please Use More Appropriate Word) in this situation, but I did not think Bill Walton was working with Brook in any way directly.
:::Edit:::
Just read the bleacher report link. Doesn't look like Bill is "there" yet, but at least we know he's interested. I would like this. Bill Walton is arguably the best passing big man of all time and I actually think that is one of Brook's weaknesses. By that, I don't mean he's a black hole like JO, Brook just needs to get stronger passing out of double teams or finding the open man when the help defense comes. He's 21 though so, naturally, I think he'll eventually develop these tools and become lethal.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 3:52 pm
by S.I.C. GM
This would be great, but I have a few questions.
Was Walton an offensive or defensive Center? Did he have post moves?
The reason why I ask is I have seen few clips on Walton. Most of the ones I have seen are not significant enough to show me his game. I know he had a hook shot.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 4:33 pm
by Preludepunk27
S.I.C. GM wrote:This would be great, but I have a few questions.
Was Walton an offensive or defensive Center? Did he have post moves?
The reason why I ask is I have seen few clips on Walton. Most of the ones I have seen are not significant enough to show me his game. I know he had a hook shot.
Bill was a smart defender. Granted you're also talking about a time when other athletes weren't as athletic, but still smart. He could definitely give Brook some knowledge.
Offensively, had one of the softest touches in this generation of the game.
Bottom line is, he's a hall of famer. If ANY hall of famer from my position was interested in working with me, I'd be on the first flight out to his house.
p.s. Everyone should read the book about the Blazers title run that came out like 10-15 years ago. Great damn book. They were all knuckleheads on that team.
Re: Walton to team up with Lopez?
Posted: Fri Sep 4, 2009 5:39 pm
by ecuhus1981
Preludepunk27 wrote:Bill Walton is arguably the best passing big man of all time and I actually think that is one of Brook's weaknesses.
Agreed, and agreed.
IMO, almost every elite player must be an above-average passer. If you're a genetic freak of nature (see: Howard, Dwight), you can get by being an inefficient passer, but for most NBA players, the step that take them from quality starter to lethal offensive weapon is assisting to teammates, once the defens sags on you. Then, they have to look at you as a dual threat.
I believe Brook will get this eventually, but having Bill around to coach it up would be EXTREMELY beneficial to Pez' development.