Someone go put Tommy Heinsohn under a 24-hour watch. From now on, Heinsohn won’t be able to declare his love for Waltah unless Tommy changes his allegiances from Celtics’ green to Suns’ purple and orange.
Yes, today Walter McCarty was finally traded to Phoenix for a future second-round pick. The deal has been in the works for at least a couple weeks as the Suns initially balked at taking McCarty because they were weary of the versatile forwards’ player option for next season. It appears that the Celtics were able to soothe the Suns’ fears by adding an undisclosed amount of cash to the deal.
Although the Celtics did not get a whole lot in return for the previously longest tenured Celtic on the roster (seven and a half years), you can’t really blame Celtics’ Executive Director of Player Personnel for making this deal happen. Before a game against Indiana a couple of weeks ago, McCarty admitted to the assembled media that he had approached Ainge just a few games into the season and asked him to look into “what’s best for Walter McCarty right now.” There were a host of reasons why the green felt they had to jettison McCarty but it should say something that the organization tried to accommodate an unhappy player who has been loyal to the franchise for the majority of the last decade.
And loyal he has been. During his stay in Boston, McCarty’s minutes have fluctuated more than ticket sales for Kevin Spacey movies. Since coming to Boston in 1997, McCarty’s minutes have gone from a high of 28.5 per game in that year to a low of 8mpg in 2000. In the 48 games the Celtics have played so far this season, Walter has averaged just over 12 and a half minutes per game and has had 4 DNP-CD’s. Inconsistent playing time like that can drive anyone crazy and McCarty was just about at the end of his rope when this season began.
Slim as his minutes were at some points in his Boston career, no one can say that McCarty didn’t make the most of them. Described by some as “the energy bunny” when Rick Pitino first acquired him from the Knicks prior to the ’97-’98 season, he always left everything he had on the court. He started out as the prototypical small forward but quickly became what Coach Doc Rivers termed “our utility guy.” At numerous times in the last eight seasons he has played shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. At one junction when the team was thin at the point guard position, former coach Jim O’Brien said that if necessary, McCarty would serve as the team’s backup point guard. Although that comment caused yours truly to shudder, it speaks to the versatility of McCarty.
Though McCarty may never have been the most talented player on the court, off of it he was a true all-star. Earlier this season, he was honored by Boston City Councilor John M. Tobin, Jr. with a City Council resolution for creating the I Love Music Foundation. In addition, he was one of twelve finalists for the John Wooden Trophy, presented to one college and one professional athlete a year. The trophy is based on character, sportsmanship and contribution to society.
Besides McCarty’s desire to leave town, the Celtics had a few reasons of their own to make this deal go down. First off, the Celtics will save a little money this year ($1.3 million) and next ($1.4 million). Still, the most logical explanation was that McCarty was stunting the development of the young players, of which the Celtics have many. Al Jefferson, Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Jiri Welsch are four of the kids that McCarty had taken minutes from this season. Being able to play so many positions and being much more trustworthy in crunch time had led Rivers to go McCarty at the end of games. Ainge would much rather the youngsters be tested in the fourth quarter and that was the primary aim of McCarty’s ouster.
Ainge, by the way, did bring this problem on himself. McCarty was a free agent before last season and it appeared that Walter’s days with the Celtics had finally come to a close. The Celtics offered him the veteran minimum and McCarty was clearly insulted by the team’s lack of generosity after many dedicated years of service. He declared that his days with the Celtics were through, leading to a public outcry from his many dedicated fans in the Boston area. One has to believe that Ainge sought to pacify O’Brien, a longtime McCarty backer, by upping the offer to McCarty, which he eventually accepted. If Ainge did not want McCarty to take away from his youth movement, he should have stuck to his guns and given McCarty his walking papers right then.
So now we can see that Walter McCarty Bobblehead Night just a week and a half ago was the fans’ farewell to McCarty and his game against the Magic on Friday night was his thank you to the fans. It was a signature Waltah game. The Celtics had lost their edge and were desperately in need of a spark. In came McCarty, always the good soldier, who proceeded to hit a game-tying three, followed by a few rebounds, a blocked shot and another three that sealed the win. It was vintage McCarty: Not a lot of minutes, but some energy, defense and, as always, three-pointers.
It’s what we’ve come to expect from Walter over the years. As much as this move was necessary for the team, it’s still a little sad to see him go. Frankly, we all loved Waltah.