DALLAS - Antoine Walker is about to find out if his team can win more if he does less.
After years of trying to do everything for the Celtics, Walker was traded Monday to the Mavericks, joining a lineup of four others capable of scoring 30 on any night.
No longer will his only offensive options be pass to Paul Pierce or shoot. Now he can look for Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley or Antawn Jamison.
"As versatile as we are, we're going to cause a lot of mismatch problems," Walker said.
To get Walker and guard Tony Delk, Dallas gave up center Raef LaFrentz, swingman Jiri Welsch, forward Chris Mills and a first-round pick in next year's draft.
From the Mavericks' perspective, they swapped a player who was not living up to the $69-million, seven-year contract he signed before last season(LaFrentz), a project (Welsch) and a player likely to spend all season on injured reserve (Mills) for a 27-year-old, three-time All-Star (Walker).
Boston sees it as giving LaFrentz a chance to return to the form that earned him the big money, trying to develop Welsch and using Mills' contract to clear salary-cap room after this season.
Walker averaged 19.9 shots last season, including 7.5 from 3-point range. As a result, he and Pierce averaged almost half of Boston's points in three seasons.
POSSIBLE SUSPENSIONS: Sacramento's Chris Webber and Golden State's Jason Richardson probably will be suspended for the start of the season because of their separate legal cases. Russ Granik, the league's deputy commissioner, gave no further details on possible punishments.
Commissioner David Stern said because Webber (knee) is injured, the suspension would be held off until he is healthy. Webber pleaded guilty to charges of lying to a grand jury about his relationship with a Michigan booster who contended he lent $616,000 to Webber and three other Wolverines.
Richardson was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from an assault on his ex-girlfriend.
HORNETS: Guard Darrell Armstrong's Orlando trial on charges of battering an officer was postponed. No new trial date was set but it could start during the All-Star break in February.
WARRIORS: Guard Nick Van Exel had surgery on his left knee and is expected to miss three weeks. With Van Exel sidelined, the Warriors signed free-agent point guard Tierre Brown, who was waived by Atlanta on Friday.
RODMAN CHARGED: Former player Dennis Rodman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he crashed a motorcycle while doing stunts outside a strip club in Las Vegas, police said. Rodman, who was treated Sunday for cuts on his legs, was not jailed on the misdemeanor charge.
WIZARDS 99, HAWKS 86: Rookie Jarvis Hayes, the 10th overall draft pick out of Georgia, scored 29 to lead Washington in a preseason game at Charlotte, N.C. Hayes, starting his fourth straight game in place of injured Jerry Stackhouse, made 12-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Dion Glover scored 19 to lead Atlanta.
HORNETS 102, 76ERS 85: Allen Iverson entertained a large hometown crowd, scoring 20 for Philadelphia in Norfolk, Va. The game was played just miles from Iverson's hometown of Hampton. Baron Davis had 24 points to lead New Orleans. Iverson did not start, but drew the largest ovation when he entered at the beginning of the second quarter.
WOLVES 91, BUCKS 86: Latrell Sprewell scored 14 in his first preseason game with visiting Minnesota and Kevin Garnett added 24. Damon Jones led Milwaukee with 15 points.
