Press Conference Transcript

Walsh: I don’t know if it’s a matter of panic, what I think I said to you is I didn’t mind our record at that point, because we had a new team and the schedule was very difficult, but I didn’t see, and Larry didn’t see, the team elevating to the point where you could look out and say to yourself, "I think this team, if they keep improving, can really do something in the Eastern Conference." And there were just some parts of our team that I wasn’t sure were fitting together the right way, so we decided, and I had been talking to Golden State for some time and so we got rekindled again, and between Larry and myself we basically came up with this deal. I think it puts players on our team that fit a little better with our team, and obviously the object is to have a better team, so when push came to shove this is what we decided to do.

Q: Why did you give up on Al Harrington so soon, as it seemed you were happy when you acquired him and he’s already on his way out of here?

Walsh: That’s the heartbreak in it. I drafted Al some time ago, I loved him as a guy, and I think he would have fit in here, but he was playing the three more than he was playing the four. I’m not sure he’s a good fit at four with Jermaine (O'Neal), and so when you looked at it, I don’t know if the two players complemented one another as much as we thought they would, because it forced us into a small lineup a lot. If I didn’t have to, I probably would not have wanted to trade Al, nor would Larry, but when you get into a trade and you’re going to get some players then they usually ask you for the player that you don’t want to give up.

Q: What about Stephen Jackson, were the off-court problems too much for the Pacers to handle to the point where they said forget about what he’s doing on the court, let’s just move on?

Walsh: I don’t think that’s the reason for our moving him, basically I just thought that it was time for Jack to get out of here, or it was the other way around in a lot of ways. I think that he was in a difficult environment for him, so I think it's best for him to go to another city and to start fresh, and I think it's good for our team as well.

Q: Last summer you guys made moves to become an up-tempo team, you picked up Al and so forth, but this trade doesn’t seem to improve your up-tempo style, is that concept now in the past?

Bird: No, not at all, I think it only enhances our ability to do things that we might not have been able to do earlier. I think with Murphy, it gives us a guy who can shoot from the outside and is a good rebounder. The one thing I said about our team all year is that were not a good rebounding team, we get beat in a lot of games because we can't control the boards, but with Dunleavy and Murphy and Ike, those guys are rebounders, and they’ll get the ball. Murphy should be a double-double guy in the East, Dunleavy is a guy who knows how to play the game, and Ike’s a guy that we were after in the draft years ago, so we got three quality players that we feel like we needed. We didn’t want to give up Al Harrington, we didn’t want to give up Sarunas, but you have to give up something to get something, and we think this is a better fit for us.

Walsh: I would like to also to add to what Larry said, we want to play a more balanced attack, and that means you have to run the fast break, and also have to play half-court. I didn’t think that developed with team we had, it might have been because we didn’t get the rebounds, and it’s very difficult to run without the ball. I think this team has the ability to do both, and I think to be a higher echelon team, unless you are unusual like Phoenix, that’s the best way to go, you have to have both, and I think this gives us a better opportunity to have both.

Q: From the guys you acquired from Golden State, does one of them stand out more than the others?

Bird: Not really, but I know Ike’s going to be a real good basketball player in this league, and Murphy is the type of guy who is a double-double guy. You saw him a lot in college controlling the boards, and he can make shots, and although he’s not really a post-up player, but he’ll open it up for Jermaine, and Dunleavy is just a smart basketball player. He knows how to play the game, and I think with these three guys coming in, along with what we have, is a good fit.

Q: Dunleavy and Murphy both have long-term deals, do you see them being part of what you’re trying to build in the long-term, or might there be more deals before the trade deadline?

Walsh: No, I don’t think you can assume that because we made this trade and because their contracts are one year longer than some of the contracts we gave up, that this a long-term or a short-term move. We’re bringing in players we like, and I think there is going to be a fit with what our projections are financially, and we will just see how the team develops from this point on.

(Referring to previous question about the up-tempo style of basketball) I would like to also to add to what Larry said, we want to play a more balanced attack, and that means you have to run the fast break, and also have to play half-court. I didn’t think that developed with team we had, it might have been because we didn’t get the rebounds, and it’s very difficult to run without the ball. I think this team has the ability to do both, and I think to be a higher echelon team, unless you are unusual like Phoenix, that’s the best way to go, you have to have both, and I think this gives us a better opportunity to have both.

Q: Will the players acquired from Golden State play against Miami?

Walsh: No, they are not going to play in Miami, and the Golden State guys aren’t playing tonight.

Q: You guys went through a lot of trouble to get Sarunas here, is it disappointing that you had to trade him?

Walsh: Everything takes a lot of effort, when you make the move to begin with you’re always going after players you like, you watch them play on your team, but if you think that all of a sudden you have the opportunity to make your team better, that doesn’t mean you won’t give up those players.

Q: Are there any concerns with the durability of the Golden State players, some of whom have had injury problems?

Walsh: We’re comfortable with their physical status at this point, if there is anything more than what we know then we’ll find out later. We’re very aware and have exchanged that information with Golden State, and so we are aware what their injuries are and they are aware what ours are.

Q: After scouting Sarunas, are you at all disappointed with the way things turned out?

Bird: Well, the first year he came in he was a rookie, and didn’t shoot the ball as well as we would have liked him to shoot it, but he had to make a major adjustment in how he played the game as the NBA is a different game than the European game. This year though, he started getting himself under control and knew what to expect, and he was playing better this year. You don’t like to give up players, but if you go out and see some players you like and you can make a deal that you think is going to make you better, no matter who that player is, you have to try and make that deal for the franchise, and that’s what we did.

Q: How do you feel about where you guys stand at two games above .500?

Bird: We had a tough schedule at the beginning, but right now we should be hitting our peak. I can’t say that I’m happy with where we stand. We should have won more games, I’m very disappointed with what happened in New Jersey the other day, it seemed like we were coming on and playing better, then we get beat by Charlotte at home and then Dallas beats us, which was a tough game. I thought we played very hard and very well against Dallas and that game could have went either way, but then we get to New Jersey and really don’t play at all. We talked to all of the players today, and they know that we’re still committed to winning, and that we’re going to do what’s necessary to take them to the next level. I think with the addition of these four young men, we will be a better basketball team, and be more balanced than what we were yesterday.

Q: Was the New Jersey game a last straw and made you realize that something had to be done?

Bird: I think a couple weeks ago we started to see a couple of things that weren’t working out the way we thought they would. We had to play Al at the three and he’s never really done that as he usually plays the four. The thing that disappointed me the most was our inability to stop the ball-penetration as well as our lack of rebounding. If you can’t rebound, you can’t control the boards, and you can’t do the things you want to do. Against Dallas, we were one rebound away from winning that game, but we didn’t get it. Dunleavy is a great rebounder; Murphy is a good rebounder, and Ike – that’s what he does, so hopefully we don’t have to have this conversation again, but we have to rebound the basketball.

Q: How do you think the trade will affect Jermaine?

Walsh: I think it will help Jermaine in a lot of ways, because if you look at Murphy, he’s an outside shooter and a great rebounder, so he can draw people away form the basket and if they help on Jermaine, he can do something about it. I also think that Ike Diogu is a very good low-post player. He is going to be a player who will surprise people because you haven’t seen a lot of him. We really liked him in the draft and we think he’s got a great future. I think there’s a player who can help in the low post, and I think Dunleavy is a multi-dimensional guy who can play three positions and is also a good outside shooter and at 6-9 can also handle the ball. We’re getting good players that fit in with this team.

(Referring to previous question about the New Jersey game) I would answer you by saying that New Jersey wasn't the last straw, but I think there was a pattern, not that I have been 100 percent happy with the team, but I felt our team was together and trying to win, but for whatever reason, they weren’t looking at the standings and taking each game one by one and trying to move up. They are out there playing, but we need to go after it, and I just didn’t see that developing. We need to be a team that goes out there and competes for a place in the league, and a higher place in the league.

Q: Do you feel like you are getting players who will be inserted into the starting rotation?

Walsh: We’ll have to see and let that develop, but we are getting guys who were starting in Golden State, as Troy Murphy is a guy who can average a double-double, and Dunleavy has been a starter out there so he’s certainly capable of starting. Ike Diogu is a younger player that I’m sure is a starter but hasn’t had his opportunity yet. He’s somewhat in a position similar to that of Jermaine when he got here.

Q: How are you going to fill the point guard position behind Tinsley?

Walsh: Well, we are bringing in Keith McLeod who is a point guard, so we’ll have to see how he does, but we have had the ability to have Marquis Daniels or Mike Dunleavy move over to point guard, because they can both play there, and that would be a different look for us. That would be a pretty big lineup when you put those two guys out there with Danny Granger, that’s 6-9, 6-9, 6-7, and we haven’t done a lot of that so far this year.

Q: Does this trade open up an opportunity for Granger?

Bird: Yes it does, and I think it also opens the way for Marquis Daniels as well. We haven’t really seen Marquis and I think he’s a special player so hopefully between those two guys, they will get more time and we will really see what they can do.

Q: There were some Dunleavy rumors back when you were trying to trade Artest, have you had your eyes on these guys for some time now?

Walsh: I had talked to Chris Mullin about those players for a long time, and I’m sure Larry has talked to him as well, and I told him that it takes two or three years to do deals, and he reminded me today that it’s been three. We liked Diogu in the draft two years ago.

Q: How long have you guys been talking specifically about this deal?

Walsh: I thought last summer that Golden State really wanted Al, and they called us a couple times to see if they could get him through us before we got him. So I was aware during the summer that they liked Al a lot.

Q: Why didn’t Jermaine and Al seem to fit well together?

Bird: Well, when you take the player that’s played in the post his whole life and try to turn him into a small forward, it’s a difficult transition. Al had good games for us and he played well for us, he just wasn’t as consistent as we would have liked. But as far as playing together, the biggest problem was just that Al was out of position a lot of times and wasn’t rebounding the ball. Jermaine is having his best year ever and we still aren’t moving up in the standings, but we can’t just sit here and blame it all on Al, as he’s playing a new position. I’m sure if he was playing the four and Jermaine was playing the five, he would have been more productive. Pretty much guarding small forwards out on the perimeter was tough for him.

A: Walsh: And we might have been too small when he was playing the four and was going against bigger teams.

Q: Is this trade at all a result of the comments Jermaine made after the game in Dallas?

Walsh: Not at all, I remember we were on the road after the Dallas game, and it was a tough game, Jermaine never spoke to me about it and I never spoke to him about it.

Q: With this trade, do you feel like you are bringing in pieces that fit around Jermaine?

Walsh: Yes, I think you could say that. He is one of our most potent forces, and we know that he is going to be out there, so we want pieces that fit around him.

Bird: Yes, I think with Murphy, we’re getting a better fit than anyone else we could have got other than Kevin Garnett; he’s a good fit for Jermaine. Ike’s a power player, Dunleavy’s a smart, intelligent ballplayer, and you never have enough of them guys, so I think we are trying to build around Jermaine and make our team stronger, and I think that these guys will make us a better basketball team.

Q: Are you going to use this next stretch of home games to see if you want to make any more changes to the roster?

Walsh: We are going to wait and see; first I have to meet the players that we just traded for.

Bird: We are always looking to get better, so if there is something out there we think can make us better then we will pursue it.

Q: Does this trade bring any issues with the salary cap?

Walsh: Not really. We would not have done the trade if it did, so in the next two years we are pretty much where we would have been, and in the third year we have more players, but it doesn’t have any luxury tax implications.