Walking Into Minnesota

"I still have a lot left in the tank. I still believe I can play. I still think I can contribute to a team, help a team. I'm going to make the most of my role. Right now everything is so undetermined: how many minutes I'm going to play, whether I'm going to start, come off the bench. I just want to come in and fit in with the guys. Whatever my role is to help this team win, I'm going to try and do that."
- Wolves forward Antoine Walker

Antoine Walker is a three-time NBA All Star, and he has one NBA title in his 11 years as a professional out of the University of Kentucky. He's been to the playoffs seven times, and the only year he hasn't scored in double figures was last season's injury-riddled Miami Heat campaign. Walker's career scoring average is 18.0, to go with 7.9 rebounds, and he's only 31-years-old. Not bad.
Walker's Career Stats

Still, coming to Minnesota with Michael Doleac and Wayne Simien for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount, Wolves fans aren't quite sure what to expect from the veteran. How much can he help?

Well, his opening interview with the Minnesota media went a long way towards suggesting his role here will be a positive one. Walker certainly said all the right things, but more comforting than the words was the fact that he appeared to be sincerely happy about having the chance to fulfill a leadership role on this young and talented team. There were no backhanded complements or subtle shots to the organization, but simply an explicit eagerness to fit in with his new teammates, learn Randy Wittman's system as quickly as possible and get onto the court.

We'll see how things materialize on the basketball floor, but so far, so good. Here's the complete transcript of Walker's post-shootaround interview, including a few thoughts from head coach Randy Wittman at the bottom:

Wolves Forward Antoine Walker
On being traded to the Wolves:
Walker: I was surprised. Any time you get traded in training camp, you're surprised, but I'm excited. I think it's a good situation for me, a (new) start with a young team that needs some veteran leadership, a guy that's been around. I'm looking forward to this challenge. I look at this team as a little different - it kind of reminds me of my Atlanta situation when I played with a young team - but this young talent is different because these guys have been getting a lot of playing time early in their careers. This should be good. We should be very competitive, and the sky is the limit to how good we can be. It's just going to take some time and be a work in progress.

On if it's tough coming to a young team at this point in his career:
Walker: Miami was great, don't get me wrong. I won a championship, and it was a great two years playing with Shaq (O'Neal) and D-Wade (Dwyane). But coming here gives me an opportunity to be a leader again. To kind of put my stamp on some of these young guys to help them become better players, to help them with off-the-court decisions as well as on the court. I want to play basketball. In Miami, it was getting outside of just playing basketball. I love to play the game, but everything was highlighted up too much (in Miami). This is a good situation for me here.

On how he fits into this team:
Walker: It's hard to say. I'm going to try and just use my versatility. I think my being able to play multiple positions will help me get some playing time in different spots. It's kind of hard ... It's my first day just looking at the team. We have some guys that are in place, and obviously Al (Jefferson) is a big guy on the block and at the four, but hopefully my versatility is an asset to the team.

On if learning Randy Wittman's schemes will be easier since he's been around so many different ones:
Walker: Yeah, just getting in today and watching, it looks like a system that I can easily fit into. It looks like they want to run, and with the team we have in place with the young guys, I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping to play tonight. I haven't played in the last couple games, so I want to get on the court and play basketball.

On if there is anything he hasn't seen:
Walker: No, this is my 12th (year), so I've had a variety of everything. From running teams to the team I came from, where two men dominate ... I've played in a lot of situations.

On his relationships with other Timberwolves:
Walker: Al and Gerald Green were in Boston. Juwan (Howard) is from Chicago, so I grew up with him. I'm familiar with some of the guys. Sebastian (Telfair) is an Adidas guy, so I've known him for a long time as well.

On getting up to speed and comfortable here
Walker: I'm kind of glad I have a week to learn the plays (before the season opener). Hopefully I'll be ready to go come Friday. I want to be out there playing with the team on opening night. The big adjustment is just learning the plays and playing multiple positions, and I look forward to the challenge.

On if he'd rather be somewhere else:
Walker: It's hard for me to say that. I haven't been here. You have to play and feel the situation out. This is my fifth team. I don't know how many teams I'm going to play for in my career, but when you get one spot, you want to just relax for a minute and get acclimated to the team and the coaches. You never know what the situation is going to be, so I'm just focused on playing and making the most of it.

On if he's glad to get out of Miami:
Walker: It's unfortunate. What I experienced in Miami was unbelievable. Winning the championship was something I dreamed about doing, and obviously last year we were banged up a lot. This year we were just in training camp, so I never really got to feel out my third year. Training camp was normal, but I was surprised. I'm not disappointed because I had a great time there, I have great friends on the team so I'm going to miss those guys. But I'm also looking forward to a new challenge.

On how his game is right now:
Walker: I feel great. I'm 100 percent, ready to go. I'm feeling good. You get into training camp for three, four weeks, you start to really get into it. I'm already ready to play.

On his conditioning:
Walker: Great. I've been fine. I never missed a practice from day one. I was there every day.

On what coach Pat Riley was saying:
Walker: Coach has rules. He has numbers, no matter who you are. We get weighed and (tested for) body fat every week, and if you're not on your number, he believes that you're not in shape. Everybody has his number to reach. He wanted me to be at a body fat number on opening day, and I wasn't there, so he was mad at me for that. It was nothing for me to respond to. I'm healthy, I'm playing, but I understand that. That's been coach's rule since he got there. Why everyone went public that I didn't make my number? I don't know.

On how many times Shaq made his number:
Walker: (Laughs) I don't know. That's just one of the things with Coach Riley. He's a big guy on that, and it's just something you have to deal with when you play for him.

On if his having a ring helps him come in as a leader:
Walker: I think it's a situation where I can come in and try to offer some leadership as far as winning. When you're young and trying to develop, you want to win as well. The one thing I used to tell these guys in Atlanta is that if you lose, you don't really develop. You have to be competitive and play, and you don't want to have an excuse. We have to come out and be competitive and believe that we can win. Everybody starts off the season 0-0, and it's the team that can gel that gets off to a good start. If we get off to a good start as a young team, that can carry over. Our young guys are not like rookies. These guys have played in games and they know how to play, so we can surprise a lot of people.

On getting his numbers back up from a down year last year:
Walker: That's the first time I probably didn't average double figures in my career, and as a player, you take personal pride in that and look to have a good season. You spend the whole summer trying to reflect on how you can get better. Last year we could never really get out of the hole, we had a ton of injuries. But I'm looking forward to a fresh start. As a player you want to improve all of your numbers.

On if he's comfortable with a reduced role:
Walker: Whatever it is, I'm coming in to play. I don't necessarily know everything, just what I read, but I'm coming in to be competitive and challenge guys. I like to play. I ain't old. I was fortunate enough to come into this league at 19, and I'm only 31 years old. I feel good, and hopefully I can play this game for a long time.

On Corey Brewer saying he liked watching Walker play in college:
Walker: I've been fortunate, and a lot of guys are going to feel the same way when they get to be my age. I still have a lot left in the tank. I still believe I can play. I still think I can contribute to a team, help a team. I'm going to make the most of my role. Right now everything is so undetermined: how many minutes I'm going to play, whether I'm going to start, come off the bench. I just want to come in and fit in with the guys. Whatever my role is to help this team win, I'm going to try and do that.

Wolves Head Coach Randy Wittman:
Wittman: I told all of our players that opportunity is yours. If you can help this team, you're going to be (given that opportunity). I've never worked with Antoine, and I don't pay attention to what is said in Miami about Antoine. All I can go by is what I see, and that's what I told him. He has an opportunity here if he shows that he can help this team. We played Miami twice last year, and he played the three spot against us. We were small at the three spot last year, and he created huge mismatches that we had to be aware of. He's another player that can play multiple positions, and he can stretch the floor as a four, because of his ability to make jumpers. That can be beneficial. If Al goes to the five, we need a guy in that position that can stretch the floor (so his man) doesn't always double-down. His abilities to handle the ball as a big is always beneficial.