Remember how
Antoine Walker was deactivated by
Pat Riley four games for
being fat failing to meet the team's conditioning standards last year? Well, I'm guessing he didn't spend his summer at the gym, because he was one of three Miami Heat players (along with
Earl Barron and
Smush Parker) who failed to meet the team's standards on the first day of training camp. From the
Sun-Sentinel:
Walker was not available for comment Tuesday, limited to time alongside Parker and Barron on the stationary bikes and treadmills one level below the practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Riley acknowledged there were mitigating factors. Walker has been bothered recently by tendinitis in his right Achilles. Parker reported to camp with a sore ankle. And Barron only came to terms last week, after spending the offseason as a restricted free agent.
But after allowing such issues to fester until midseason last season, Riley invoked a zero-tolerance approach the first day of camp.
That's a bold move, and the symbolism of those three guys not even being in the same room as their teammates is strong. Riley seems intent on turning things around this year, evident by his decision to open training camp at precisely 12 midnight Tuesday morning, the earliest time allowed by the NBA, and working until 2:30 in the morning. What's really funny is that the players weren't even aware about the late-night session until several hours before. Hey, knowing that, maybe we should cut Walker some slack -- for all we know, he was planning a marathon jump-rope session in a sauna the night before camp opened.
