One Goal-- Jack Walker's NBA Journey

[Son of Sam99]

Author’s Note

I’ve never published or even written about a My Player before and I don’t even particularly like NBA basketball. That being said I’ve really enjoyed playing My Player on NBA 2K12 so after little thought or deliberation I’ve decided to put this thing together.

I had actually played a little over two seasons into the game before I really decided to pursue writing and publishing this story so those seasons won’t contain as much detail until I catch up to games which are much more fresh in my memory. Hopefully some folks will stick around until then because that should be the good stuff.

Keep in mind that I’m playing 5 minute quarters because I’m way too impatient for anything else. I’ve also set the simulated game length to 6 minute quarters so that stats are generally even. I try to play the game in a mostly simulation manner but obviously there will still be unrealistic parts to it. If you find elements of the business side (ie: trades, contracts, etc.) of the story to be totally unrealistic understand that I’m writing this based on the actual game experience, I know 2K12 has been criticized for dumb trades so I’ll try to make it seem realistic.

[Son of Sam99]

Forward

Jack Walker loved basketball, period end of sentence. He loved the feel of the ball against his hand, he loved the sound it made pounding against the wood floor, and he loved the screech of shoes as players made their cuts, but most of all he loved the sweet sound of netting dragging against rubber as the ball sailed through the hoop. His passion as long as he could remember was singular, and it was the game of basketball; he studied it’s history, followed college ball and the NBA.

As a youth he would go to the park and shoot jumpers for hours trying to perfect his stroke. Trying to get to the point where he never had to hear the disagreeable clank of a brick off the iron. This idea of having the perfect jumper drove him, he idolized players who could shoot like no one else; Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, but most of all Steve Nash. And Nash gave Walker hope, standing at just 6’3" Steve Nash won consecutive MVP awards, a stat that some be forgot since his Suns were never able to advance past the conference finals. But Walker would stay up late to watch the west coast game and marvel as Nash ran Mike D’Antoni’s exciting fast paced offence, draining jumpers and dishing out assists by the handful.

On the court Jack was able to carve out a solid niche for himself on the high school team thanks to his extensive work on his jump shot. Lou Simmons, his coach, would send him on as the 7thth man his freshman and sophomore season basically just to hit threes. The three pointer was jack's favorite play in the game both to execute and to see. A big dunk made people ooh and ahh but three pointers really brought everyone to their feet late in a close game. Jack felt there was an assassin’s attitude to hitting a triple, he loved to slow down his dribble, let the defender think he was safe then rise up and knock down the difficult shot.

Junior year was different as Jack was handed the reigns to the offense being the most capable ball handler on the roster. Unfortunate for Jack the team never gelled to say the least and several times that season he struggled with pressing himself. Two consecutive misses and he’d make sure to try to sink a shot next time down the floor, and if he missed that time, he thought he better try again, and so on. His teammates would complain but then the very next game he’d get hot and hit 6 of 8 from long range. And so the season went with the team going .500 and totally missing any playoff opportunity.

Jack’s senior season provided much greater personal success but basically the same level of team success. Thanks to help from the coaches and some use of instructions off the Internet Jack began to learn how to properly use a pick and roll, crossover, and shot fake to create shots for himself and opportunities for his teammates. As the season drew to an end Walker began to gain interest from several division one programs of lower prestige including Central Arkansas, Quinnapac, Siena and Cleveland State. Despite their offers to basically play right away he decided to walk on at his hometown school, Xavier University to play for Sean Miller. It wasn’t until his junior year when Coach Miller accepted a job at Arizona that new head coach Chris Mack finally gave Jack some time in the rotation.

Similar to high school Jack would come off the bench to play around ten minutes a game and essentially just get open to toss up threes. By this strategy Walker averaged nearly 6 points a game and one assist, not nearly the big introduction he had been hoping for. Over the balance of the school year though, Jack worked his tail off along with back court mates Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons, and Brad Redford. Both Holloway and Lyons were straight ballers who it seemed to Jack could crossover anyone in the Atlantic Ten. Working in the gym with those guys helped him further develop his moves off the dribble and trying to keep up with them in the weight room filled out his body as he put on 20 pounds of pure muscle from the end of the season to the first practice of senior year.

Redford and Walker were shooters cast from the same mold; Brad had the quickest release Jack had ever seen. From the time he caught the ball to when it left his hand seemed like just the blink of the eye and Jack learned how to replicate this while still shooting a reasonable percentage.
With his hard work in the off season Jack played himself into 25 minutes per game. He still struggled to shake defenders but shot a solid 40% from the field and a blistering 42% from deep and averaged 15 points per game. The team won 24 games and dominated the Atlantic Ten once again but unfortunately ran into Marquette in the first round of the tournament and promptly headed home after that.

Jack thought his basketball career was over with the loss in the tournament since he knew his game just wasn’t complete enough to play in the NBA. The next week though he was contacted by an agent who told him he could have a career in Europe. He had conflicted feelings about possibly living to Spain or Greece but wanted nothing more than to continue playing the game he loved. He pondered signing with the agent until he received a letter from the NBA.

“You’ve been invited to play in the NBA Rookie Showcase on June 18th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The rookie Showcase is the Associations’ opportunity to introduce the fans to the exciting incoming rookies, as well as, for the players involved to exhibit their skills for NBA front offices. Please confirm your intent to compete in the Showcase and further details will be forthcoming.”
-David Stern

Jack wasn’t totally sure why he was invited but knew it was his best chance to play in the most elite basketball league in the world, and he had to take it.

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 1 Rookie Showcase

This was going poorly to say the least. Jack Walker was doing the best he could to show off his talent for the 150 or so NBA scouts in the stands but he felt himself sinking into quicksand with every brick and misplaced dribble which turned into a quick two the other way. At halftime he rationalized… “This is a mishmash of a team, we’ve never played together before and never will again, what do they expect of me!?”

The coach was sitting in his office chatting with the assistants he decided to bring with him while a few players talked to each other while some just listened to their music. Jack seriously doubted himself for getting on the floor with a bunch of nineteen and twenty year olds who had only taken the requisite one year in college before declaring, So far they were faster, stronger, and smarter with the ball than he was.

After about five minutes of self loathing Jack attempted to push those thoughts from his mind, he was determined in the second half to ignore what had happened up to that point and play loose.

This mindset worked almost immediately as right after he reentered the game in the 3rd quarter he received the ball at the top of the key, crossed over once, rose up and knocked down.

“F**k yes.” Jack muttered to himself as he ran back on defense. The opposing team scored an easy layup inside and Jack brought the ball back up court, he surveyed the defense before passing off to the two guard and cutting to the basket, his defender was with him until he cut back up toward the elbow and caught the ball, he faked a shot and zipped a pass inside to the swing man who converted an easy layup.

“Yes.” Jack again muttered to himself beginning to feel himself turning around. This was the mode he always found when he started to play well. Free flowing and not over thinking his next move.

At the end of the exhibition he had ten points to go with two assists. As he walked off the floor though he looked up to the stands and appreciated the arena for its grandeur, he thought about how he wouldn’t likely be playing in a big NBA Arena like the Prudential Center again anytime soon.

While all of the top tier stars who had played in the showcase stuck around New York until the draft Jack went home to sort out his future. The second half of the Showcase was positive in the long run as Jack was able to say to himself that he tried his hardest. Also it gave him a big smack on the head to remind him just how much he loved the game of basketball; it was that reminder that helped him decide he wanted to test the waters in European basketball after all.

On the plane back to Cincinnati he wondered where he might land in Europe hoping it would be Spain where he could grow and eventually get another shot at NBA basketball.

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 2 Surprise!

“With the 34th pick in the 2011 draft, the Washington Wizards select Jack Walker out of Xavier University.” The announcement echoed from the podium at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Jack Walker was sitting at home half paying attention to the draft and half playing Angry Birds on his phone until he thought he heard his name. Next thing he knew he looked up to see highlights of himself hitting threes over a hapless Dayton Flyers defense.

“Certianly a surprise pick here for the Wizards.” Jon Barry stated over the highlight reel. “Obviously Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld thinks he may know something no one else has quite figured out. Walker has upside don’t get me wrong, he can shoot the ball from nearly anywhere on the floor but for me his struggles on the defensive end and inability to create his own shot outweigh his pure shooting abilities.”

Jack couldn’t believe he’d been selected but was snapped out of his daze by his phone vibrating in his hand, the number was unknown but it identified as a Washington DC number.
“Hello?” Jack answered.
“Hello Jack Walker?” The person answered on the other end.
“This is he.”
“Jack this is Ernie Grunfeld with the Washington Wizards.”
“Yeah?” Jack said inwardly rolling his eyes for sounding like a dope.
“I wanted to let you know we’ve selected you in the second round of the NBA draft.”
“That’s amazing, thank you sir.”
“Yeah yeah, listen we need you to report to DC as soon as possible for a workout and a physical… Also who’s your agent? Obviously we need to speak with him immediately.”
“I uhhh… I’m sorry Mr. Grunfeld I don’t officially have an agent.”
“DON’T HAVE AN AGENT!?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t expect to get picked at all, I was looking at Europe but…” Jack trailed off.
“Listen its fine for now but we need you to get some kind of representation ASAP. Do that then get on a plane tomorrow for DC.” And with that Ernie hung up.

Jack sat there stunned for a moment before pacing trying to figure out what to do. The guy he’d been talking with had only ever represented players who played overseas; would he be able to help at all with the Wizards?
He decided to shoot a text. “Coach I’ve got a bit of an emergency, call me when you can.” Not ten minutes passed when his phone rang again with a familiar number.
“Hey coach.” Jack greeted his former coach.
“Jack what’s going on, are you alright?” Coach Chris Mack responded.
“I’m fine but I am in a bind. I got drafted by the Wizards.”
“Well that’s fantastic, congratulations!”
“Yeah it’s great but I don’t have an agent yet and the front office says I need one ASAP.”
“Alright… Let me make a call. And I’ll get back to you, sit tight.”
“Will do, thanks coach.”
“Hey, again congratulations. This is huge!”
“Thanks coach, I really couldn’t have done it without you.” And Jack hung up.

Another thirty minutes passed and it was now almost 10pm. Soon though his phone rang once more but this time the number was unknown.
“Hello?” Jack answered.
“Jack Walker?”
“Yeah.”
“This is David West.” The deep baritone voice of the Xavier legend and 8 year NBA veteran came through the phone.
“Whoa, Mr. West what can I do for you?”
“Call me David, first off congratulation on being drafted, but I’m calling at the request of Coach Mack. He asked that I help you find some representation.”
“Oh my God David that would be a big help.”
“I’m going to text you the number for Jeff Austin of Octagon in LA, they represent me and I’m sure they’ll help you out.”
“Thank you so much for your help.”
“Hey kid, always remember to work hard. The NBA is a grind and you can’t take a single game or practice off. If you do your work you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks Mr. West.” Jack said and hung up the phone.

After a brief conversation with Jeff Austin, Jack was shuffled down to a lower level guy named Nick Kennedy. Even over the phone Nick seemed like an aspiring Ari Gold full of overconfidence and spouting off about how Jack would own the league within one season. Despite his attitude Jack liked Nick and was happy to sign on with a high prestige agency even if he would be one of their lowest profile clients. After the proper forms were signed and faxed back and forth Jack Walker officially had an agent.
“Listen, Jack.” Nick paused at one point to be serious. “We’re going to work for you but the rookie contracts are weak especially for second round guys. It will be a struggle to get you a million.”
“I’m just happy to get paid to play the game.” Nick scoffed at his client’s response.
“Hey that kind of stuff is great for interviews but keep it out of negotiations.”
Jack Walker went to sleep that night with dollar signs dancing through his head.

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 3 Signing

Jack landed the next morning at 9am in Dulles Airport being fortunate that his parents could pony up the money to get him a last second ticket. On the 30 minute cab ride to the Verizon Center Jack couldn’t help but look up what the “experts” were saying about the Wizards’ draft. ESPN’s Tim Legler didn’t pull any punches in his analysis.

“Obviously there wasn’t anything The Wizards could have done last night to guarantee a playoff run but they could have at least taken a better known commodity. If Jack Walker can develop into a dynamic scorer then Washington will have an exciting backcourt and GM Ernie Grunfeld will look like a genius. The problem is that probably wont happen for years, if at all. In the meantime we can all expect the Wizards to continue to battle the Charlotte Bobcats for worst team in the league.”

As the federal buildings passed by Jack reflected on what a long road it was he would be embarking on soon. Though he couldn’t help but dream of fame and success he knew what the score was; he was basically a no-name player drafted by a sh***y team, where no one expected them to win even 30 games. He made a mental note to remind himself of these facts from time to time.

Throughout his basketball career Jack had thrived on his desire to prove the doubters wrong. He knew deep down that he was an excellent basketball player and he knew with out a doubt that he hadn’t even come close to his reaching his ceiling. While passing by the National Mall he thought of all the hours he’d already put into studying film, lifting weights, and working on all aspects of his game. He knew there’d be so much more work to do.

Thinking about all the challenges ahead just filled Jack with more excitement about this new phase of his life; he couldn’t wait to get started. After appreciating some of the historic DC monuments he looked back to his phone for more “expert analysis.”

“Jack Walker is a one tool player with little to no upside. The idea of having a backcourt with the slashing John Wall at the two and a sharp shooting point guard is attractive but Walker has never been able to consistently create his own shot or get past even the most lethargic defenders. This is yet another botched pick by one of the worst front offices in the league.” Jack copied the paragraph and saved it in his phone, thinking to himself ‘Thank you Bill Simmons’.

The cab pulled into the Verizon center parking lot for players and someone’s assistant introduced himself and took Jack through some dark corridors before they took an elevator up four floors and got out at what Jack though must be the front offices. Soon they entered a door with the name card “Ernie Grunfeld, GM” next to it, the former Tennessee Volunteer star was on the phone but motioned Jack to sit down while he finished the call.

“Jack, Ernie Grunfeld it’s good to formally meet you.” Grunfeld stated once he hung up the phone.
“Good to meet you too Mr. Grunfeld.” Jack responded feeling out of his element.
“Ernie please. Listen, we took you at 34 because we want to try to create more offense from the guard position. The idea is to have the slashing two man in John and you to supplement him to stand back and be ready to catch and pop when he kicks out.”
“I’m ready to do anything Ernie.”
“Good, good. In the meantime though we’re going to need to work you out and get a full physical before finalizing your contract. Mark will take you down to the locker room.
After a long day of shuttle runs, shooting practice and all kinds of medical tests Jack met again with Ernie again, this time Nick Kennedy was on speaker phone and a contract lay on his desk.

“Kid everything looks good, your agent and I have worked everything out. We’re offering you a two year deal with a team option and a salary of a little more than $815,000. How’s that sound?”
“Wow that’s generous. Uhhh Nick?”
“I’m here kid.” Nick Kennedy’s voice came over the speaker phone.
“Does this sound good to you?”
“Absolutely kid. Just stick in the league for two seasons and you’ll be gettin’ paid.” At his agent’s advice Jack Walker picked up the pen in front of him and signed his rookie contract to truly become a NBA player.

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 4 Welcome to the Association

As it turned out David West was absolutely right, playing in the NBA is a grind. Jack Walker reflected on how dead tired he was as the Wizards boarded yet another plane this time flying from Orlando to Indianapolis. Their Tuesday night game with the Magic had gone poorly as Dwight Howard muscled in 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the Wizards’ hapless frontcourt. Looking forward they would play the Pacers less than 24 hours from now and Roy Hibbert was yet another match up nightmare.

No one was surprised that the Wizards were 6 and 21 but Jack was surprised to find that for the most part none of his teammates seemed to mind all that much. They had lost some by less than three but their average margin of loss was somewhere around ten points and through all the struggles John Wall, Andray Blatch, and JaVale McGee all seemed to just be going through the motions. Every now and then one of the guys, Jack included, would have a big night and the team would rally around that. These guys may have been resigned to their fate but they were still a team after all. On those nights someone would go for 10 or 12 points in the first half and the score would be close, but then everyone would all start pressing and taking bad shots or turning the ball over. In the end the six wins they had were largely due to the other team having been tired or just having an extraordinarily bad shooting night.

The Wizards’ coach, Flip Saunders, was widely viewed around the league as the wrong man for the job in Washington. He knew how to coach superstars like Kevin Garnett when he was with the T-Wolves, and established veterans like Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups when he was in Detroit. But this job was not just about the ability to create a successful game plan and execute it. With all of the young players on the roster The Wizards needed a coach with the ability to foster young talent that’s rough around the edges. Flip Saunders just didn’t have that quality.

For his part Jack didn’t help matters too much though. He broke into the starting lineup fairly quickly in Saunders’ attempt to generate quick offense and create some chemistry with Wall. Unfortunately that just resulted in the other members of the team using Jack as an escape valve when the shot clock would wind down. Basically most of the team’s offensive possessions followed the same formula; invariably someone would set a bad pick or toss a bad pass and the play would break down, then whoever had the ball would try to go one on one and with four second left on the shot clock they’d find Jack which wouldn’t be a terrible decision since he was usually the best pure shooter on the floor. However, this just resulted in way too many rushed shots and easy rebounds for the opposition.

Jack was keenly aware of his miserable .350 shooting percentage and his team high 12 points a game did little to mollify the disappointment of his abysmal efficiency. He was still hopeful the team might gel and make a late run into the playoffs but each loss was a knock on his psyche and thoughts about shifting focus were now prevalent on his mind. No one on the team would come out and say it in the locker room or during practice but most had at least insinuated they were just there for the paycheck, or marking time until they were a free agent. Jack had never played for any other reason than to win.

Perhaps by fate Andray Blache chose that moment to sit down next to Jack as the team plane soared at 30,000 feet and everyone else was up to their own devices.
“How ya doin’ rook?” The 6’11” big man asked.
“Tired.” Jack said. “I’ll survive. How’re you?”
“Same.” Blatche sighed. “Ready for Indy?”
“ I will be… Ready for Hibbert?”
“I will be.” Blatche paused. “What you think of this team so far, the league?” Jack thought it a good idea to choose his words carefully.
“I think we’re getting better, if we can string some wins together we may surprise some people.”
“Bull****.” Blatche challenged immediately.
“We suck.” Jack said truthfully.
“Yeah we in the wilderness now… All of us, together, deep in it.” Blatche continued. “I been in the NBA wilderness for a long *** time.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked even though he was pretty sure he knew.
“No matter what way we look don’t seem to be no way out.” Neither man spoke for a while.
“Look rookie the point is this… We all want to win; we all came up playing to win basketball games because that’s the best part about playing ball. In the NBA though, sometimes that just isn’t an option.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you had the bad luck of being drafted into this situation..”
“I thought I was lucky to get drafted at all.” Jack said back.
“We’re all lucky to play basketball for a living but we’re not all lucky enough to have an opportunity to win.”
“Thanks for the advice.” And with that Blatche got up and returned to the seat he had occupied earlier.

Jack couldn’t stop think though about what his teammate had said to him. At that moment he vowed to maximize his time in the NBA no matter what. Playing at Xavier had offered plenty of chances to win Atlantic Ten titles but in his basketball career Jack had never once won an outright championship and that would be his goal.

Jack put his beats on and thought to himself ‘What was it LeBron said? “Not 2, not 3, not 4…’”

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 5 Out of the Wilderness

Jack Walker had thought further over time about what Andray Blatche had said to him on the plane from Orlando and accordingly adjusted his focus. Jack took the time to learn about his teammate’s individual history and what they had done in the NBA, upon doing this it was obvious to him that Blatche was right on in his assessment. From that point on Jack focused all of his energy inward. He took tapes home and studied them to memorize the moves his opponents would use, every off day was spent in the gym or weight room, he also compiled reels of his favorite NBA guards in an attempt to imitate their moves, and finally, every single day; 200 jump shots without fail. Jack knew the time wasn’t now for winning, but he would make absolutely sure he would be ready when the time came.

Twenty seven games after Blatches’ “pep talk” and not much had changed. In that time The Wizards had gone 10-17 which was, in fact, better than their previous 21 games but still there was essentially no way they’d sniff the playoffs unless things started to change drastically.

The team’s helplessness was well encapsulated in their home game on February 1st, right after the all star break. The 76ers were in town and in the end they provided The Wizards with their 38th loss of the season. Despite focusing more on himself and improving his play Jack still couldn't help but get excited for each game. During the pregame shoot around he mentally created his own personal checklist for the game.

“No last second chucks in the 1st quarter, dish it down low often, no more than 4 three point attempts, NO turnovers!” Jack repeated the last point in his head as his warm-up jumper stretched the twine.

Despite his determination to keep the game reasonable in the first quarter, Philadelphia had other plans. The first two offensive possessions resulted in a bad miss by Wall, and a turnover by Jack respectively. On the other end of the floor the 76ers had no difficulty getting to the rim, especially Jrue Holiday who was blowing past Jack every chance he got. When Walker would sluff off to give himself some room for the inevitable drive to the hoop, Holiday would just shoot it right over Jack’s head. He scored 23 on the night and made Jack look silly. He knew, once again, the game film would be a struggle to get through.

The Wizards offense carried their early struggles with them throughout the entire game and in the end lost by 15 points. Jack scored 13 himself and led the team in scoring but that was mostly thanks to desperate 4th quarter 3s in an attempt to at least get the game close.

This was the third straight game for Jack in which he could barely stay in front of his man. Derek Rose and Derron Williams had both recently put him in a clown suit and neither was friendly about it.

As Jack had finished showering he was getting ready to leave when Coach Saunders called him into his office. Jack was surprised to see Grunfeld there as well.

“Have a seat son.” Grunfeld started and Jack sat down, he was genuinely concerned he was headed to the D league.
“Jack we’ve traded you to the Boston Celtics as of thirty minutes ago.” Jack sat stunned a little letting the words sink in. “You're to report to their facilities first thing in the morning for a workout and a physical.” Grunfeld continued. “You put up good minutes for us but we’re going to move in another direction at the point guard position.” Jack was truly stunned, he only had a two year contract and trades happen all the time but he’d only been in Washington for four months. As he processed the information there was one question that popped into his head.
“Who did you trade me for?” Jack asked.
“I beg your pardon?” Grunfeld asked as if caught off guard by the question.
“Who did you get in the trade?” Jack asked more clearly. Grunfeld gave a sideways glance to Saunders.
“A second round draft pick.” Again Jack let that sink in for a minute, and moved on.
“Alright. Is it up to me to get myself to Boston or?...”
“Our traveling secretary has set you up with a flight and a hotel in Boston for the evening, check in with him and you’ll be all set.”
“Okay, thanks for the opportunity.” Jack stood, shook both men’s hands and went back to the locker room to say good bye and good luck to Blatche, the only player he had any real connection with on the team. After that he walked out of the Washington Wizards’ franchise for good after just 48 games.

“A second round draft pick.” Grunfeld’s words echoed in Jack’s head as he packed a bag for himself. He was upset that Washington had totally given up on him after only a little over half of a season, but once again he felt the fire burning inside himself. The more people gave up on him, the more his desire to reach the top of the mountain grew.

[Son of Sam99]

Chapter 6 The Celtics

“You’ll be outta the wilderness now rookie.” Blatche had said to Jack as they shook hands. Jack was sorry to be saying so long to the first professional teammate he had made any real connection with but his parting words caught the rookie off guard. Walker was simply so surprised by Grunfeld’s announcement that he hadn’t had the time to appreciate his turn in fortune. The Celtics were not only a proud franchise but a team that was winning, and a lot.

The Celtics’ big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce were obviously on a mission to get back to the finals or at least get a playoff rematch with the Heat to avenge their loss the previous season. The team had won 32 of 48 games and was second in the east, just about everyone around the league was confident they would get the rematch they wanted.

Jack thought about his new team and how he would fit in on his trip north to Boston. He assumed he would be logging bench minutes since Rajon Rondo was the floor captain for the team and although Jack knew he needed minutes for his game to continue improving he was glad to have the opportunity to play with and learn from veteran players who had seen it all in and around the league.

Ray Allen was a guy Jack had always idolized. Allen played college ball at UConn and was drafted by the Timberwolves but was immediately traded to the Bucks where he played 7 seasons, after that it was on to Seattle to play for the Supersonics and finally he landed in Boston. Jack looked up to Allen because he was a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc and is a true perfectionist of the jump shot. He was even labeled by some as obsessive compulsive about his shot. Jack wanted to be sure to become familiar with Allen’s training and practice regimens and maybe imitate them.

Rajon Rondo was another guy who Jack wanted to become familiar with. Rondo was drafted by the Suns out of Kentucky but then traded right away to Boston where he was playing in his 6th season. Immediately out of college Rondo developed a reputation for being a tenacious defender and had already been selected all NBA defensive team three times. He averaged about ten points a game so he wasn’t considered a scorer but he filled the stat sheet with assists and steals. On ball defending was one of the areas where Jack needed the most help in his game, Rajon Rondo was the best on the ball defender in the league and Jack couldn’t wait to learn from him.

--

“Welcome to Boston Mr. Walker. Please have a seat.” Danny Ainge the former Celtic players and current general manager welcomed Jack into his office. The very first thing Jack noticed when stepping into Ainge’s office was that the window looked out into the arena but was at perfect eye level to appreciate the numerous championship banners that hung in the rafters high above the playing surface. The franchise could claim an astounding 17 NBA titles thanks to legends such as Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, and the architect of it all; Red Auerbach.

“Yeah it’s a lot to take in.” Ainge commented as he could see Jack was daydreaming a little bit staring at the banners.
“Yes it is.”
“I’m sure you don’t need to be told but it’s an honor to play for the Boston Celtics and we expect maximum effort out of all of our players Jack.”
“Yes sir. I’m here to win.” Jack said truthfully.
“That’s good. We brought you here to add a little offensive punch and youth down the stretch and into the playoffs. We’re obviously winning a lot but this team never really pulls away, they’re not able to step on the throat. I see in you a real scoring threat; I’m letting you know so that you’re aware we are expecting a lot of added offense out of you.”
“Yes sir.”
“Please call me Dan. As you probably know the completion of this trade is pending a physical so have my assistant show you to the training room and we’ll get that taken care of, afterward you’ll meet with Coach Rivers.”
“Thank you Dan I’m glad to be here.” Jack stood and shook the former point guard’s hand before leaving.
After Jack’s physical he sat in Doc Rivers’ office going over the Celtics’ system with the head coach himself and two assistants. For three straight hours they discussed situational play calling, adjustments to what defenses were doing, and reviewing nearly every play in the 74 page playbook.
“Well I’m glad you’re well studied in the game, you’re going to be the one running this offense more often than not.” Rivers said leaning back in his chair as Jack studied a high pick and roll play.
“You mean when I’m on the court?” Jack asked.
“No I mean overall.” The coach shot back.
“Coach… No disrespect but I fully expected to play behind Rondo.”
“Orders from up top, you’re starting.”