Antoine Walker Denies that He'd Want Out if Celtics Hire Pitino

May 1997

The Globe reported yesterday that Antoine Walker would leave at the end of his three-year contract if Rick Pitino were named coach of the Celtics. But Walker, who is in Chicago preparing for summer league basketball, said that is not the case. "It doesn't make a difference to me. I don't care who the coach is," said Walker, who finished fourth in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting. "I don't have a beef with Coach P. I don't want people to think that I'm like that. If he comes here, that's fine with me."

Walker is eligible to be a free agent in the summer of 1999. The Celtics would not be able to negotiate a long-term deal with him until July 1998.