Nate Robinson finds a new home in Boston
Boston Celtics' Nate Robinson (4) drives past New York Knicks' Eddie House in the fourth quarter. (February 23, 2010) Credit: AP
BOSTON - When he took off his Knicks jersey after winning his third Slam Dunk championship at All-Star Saturday in Dallas on Feb. 13, Nate Robinson knew that it was for the last time. His agent, Aaron Goodwin, in congratulating his client on the win, let him know there might be more celebration to come this season.
The Celtics, who had shown some interest in the 5-9 guard in January, were in hot pursuit as the trade deadline neared.
"And then I didn't hear anything for a couple of days, and then I became a Celtic," Robinson said before he made his debut in green against his former team last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.
During his 14-game exile from Mike D'Antoni's rotation in December, even after Goodwin's trade demand (which resulted in a $25,000 fine from the NBA), Robinson vetoed a trade to the Memphis Grizzlies. But when there was interest from the 2007-08 champions, who are still among the NBA's elite and in desperate need for some young legs, Robinson was happy to accept the move.
"It's overwhelming, being part of a franchise that's accustomed to winning," Robinson said.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he wants Nate to be Nate, which is something that has made previous coaches, from Larry Brown to Isiah Thomas to D'Antoni, go crazy. But Rivers accepts the challenge of coaching an often undisciplined shoot-first guard, who plays with an entertaining effervescence and yet also at times with disregard for a game plan, especially on defense. And defense is a staple of this Celtics team.
"I want him to be him on the court, that's one of the things I told him," Rivers said. "We didn't grab you, we didn't want you for the things you haven't done. We grabbed you because we saw a lot of things we like. As far as the other stuff, we'll see. We'll see how it plays out."
It didn't play out well in New York, where Robinson never could use his boundless energy and explosive scoring ability within a team concept. D'Antoni initially thought he could develop Robinson into an effective combo guard who could run the offense but eventually grew frustrated with his game. Robinson was asked what he thought went wrong between himself and D'Antoni.
"I honestly don't know," he said. "I did everything Coach asked and I guess it wasn't good enough . . . I still respect Coach, love Coach."
