Dallas ? Teammates at Kansas University, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz are back together again.
The Boston Celtics acquired LaFrentz, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward, Monday along with forwards Chris Mills, guard Jiri Welsch and a 2004 draft pick from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Antoine Walker and guard Tony Delk.
“Raef is a great complement to Paul Pierce,” said Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge. “He stretches the defense, opens the paint and is a good shot-blocker. We also would not have done this deal if Jiri was not included. He’s a very promising 6-7 combo guard. We are very high on him.”
LaFrentz, entering his sixth season, has spent the last season and a half with the Mavericks. In 69 games (43 starts) during the 2002-03 season, the Iowa native averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.32 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game.
He also shot career-highs of 51.8 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point territory, while leading the team in blocks 29 times.
In five NBA seasons, LaFrentz has averaged 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.22 blocks per game. He became the third player in NBA history to register 100 three-pointers (104) and 100 blocks (213) in the same season in 2001-02 and ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in blocks three of the last four seasons.
“It is a sad/happy moment here in Maverickville,” said Dallas general manager Donnie Walsh. “We are saying goodbye to a couple of guys, one of which was an integral part of our playoff success last year in Raef LaFrentz and a guy we were very high on in Jiri Welsch. We think that they both have big futures in the league. We gave up quite a bit, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a talent like Antoine Walker.”
LaFrentz was a teammate of Celtics captain Paul Pierce for three seasons at KU.
“Antoine put his heart into this organization,” Pierce said. “But he also realizes that this is a business.”
LaFrentz was deemed expendable because of his foul problems. He averaged a foul every 6.1 minutes and fouled out eight times with the Mavs a year ago. In the playoffs, it was a foul every 5.6 minutes with three ejections in 20 games.
“I knew I could be traded, but I didn’t foresee it happening a week before the season starts,” LaFrentz said. “I’m not bitter toward the Mavs. It’s a great organization, and I had a good stay here.”
Walker joins a team that already has Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Antawn Jamison.
“As versatile as we are, we’re going to cause a lot of mismatch problems,” Walker said.
Walker averaged 19.9 shots per game last season, including 7.5 from three-point range. As a result, he and Pierce averaged nearly half of Boston’s points the last three seasons.
“I’m looking forward to doing whatever it takes to win a championship,” Walker said.
Former Kansas University All-American Raef LaFrentz was traded from Dallas to Boston Monday. Here’s a look at the players involved in the five-player swap:
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Dallas ? Teammates at Kansas University, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz are back together again.
The Boston Celtics acquired LaFrentz, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward, Monday along with forwards Chris Mills, guard Jiri Welsch and a 2004 draft pick from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Antoine Walker and guard Tony Delk.
“Raef is a great complement to Paul Pierce,” said Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge. “He stretches the defense, opens the paint and is a good shot-blocker. We also would not have done this deal if Jiri was not included. He’s a very promising 6-7 combo guard. We are very high on him.”
LaFrentz, entering his sixth season, has spent the last season and a half with the Mavericks. In 69 games (43 starts) during the 2002-03 season, the Iowa native averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.32 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game.
He also shot career-highs of 51.8 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point territory, while leading the team in blocks 29 times.
In five NBA seasons, LaFrentz has averaged 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.22 blocks per game. He became the third player in NBA history to register 100 three-pointers (104) and 100 blocks (213) in the same season in 2001-02 and ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in blocks three of the last four seasons.
“It is a sad/happy moment here in Maverickville,” said Dallas general manager Donnie Walsh. “We are saying goodbye to a couple of guys, one of which was an integral part of our playoff success last year in Raef LaFrentz and a guy we were very high on in Jiri Welsch. We think that they both have big futures in the league. We gave up quite a bit, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a talent like Antoine Walker.”
LaFrentz was a teammate of Celtics captain Paul Pierce for three seasons at KU.
“Antoine put his heart into this organization,” Pierce said. “But he also realizes that this is a business.”
LaFrentz was deemed expendable because of his foul problems. He averaged a foul every 6.1 minutes and fouled out eight times with the Mavs a year ago. In the playoffs, it was a foul every 5.6 minutes with three ejections in 20 games.
“I knew I could be traded, but I didn’t foresee it happening a week before the season starts,” LaFrentz said. “I’m not bitter toward the Mavs. It’s a great organization, and I had a good stay here.”
Walker joins a team that already has Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Antawn Jamison.
“As versatile as we are, we’re going to cause a lot of mismatch problems,” Walker said.
Walker averaged 19.9 shots per game last season, including 7.5 from three-point range. As a result, he and Pierce averaged nearly half of Boston’s points the last three seasons.
“I’m looking forward to doing whatever it takes to win a championship,” Walker said.
Former Kansas University All-American Raef LaFrentz was traded from Dallas to Boston Monday. Here’s a look at the players involved in the five-player swap:
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6Sports video: LaFrentz joining Pierce in Boston