Green wave

"I wasn't excited about being moved, to be honest with you, but I couldn't ask for a better situation," Walker said from Portland, Ore., where the Hawks will play the Trail Blazers tonight. "I have an opportunity to play with another All-Star and a chance to join a team that's in the thick of the playoff hunt, and I love to play in the postseason. So, I have to thank [Atlanta general manager] Billy Knight for moving me back to a place that I know so well."

Don't expect Payton to remain in Atlanta. The Hawks are likely to waive him or buy out his contract, and he could even end up back with the Celtics.

The Celtics also traded Jiri Welsch to Cleveland for a 2007 first-round pick.

Ainge traded Walker to Dallas because he thought Walker's maximum contract would slow the team's retooling process. Walker believed the deal was motivated by personal reasons. Acrimony and harsh words followed. But the sides appear to have reached detente. The new Celtics look like the old Celtics with the two-pronged attack of Walker and Pierce back in place. But for how long? Walker is in the final year of a six-year contract worth approximately $70 million he signed with the Celtics in 1999.

"I hope Boston isn't just renting me for the last two months of the season to make a playoff run," said Walker. "I spent a lot of years there. I made a lot of friends there. I put my roots there. I'd love to be there for the rest of my career."

When asked whether Walker would be with the Celtics long term, Ainge said he had "no idea" and would not address the issue until this summer. Ainge was not thinking about adding Walker to the roster until yesterday.

"There's been talk with Atlanta for about a month, but it mostly included our young guys, and that wasn't going to happen," said Ainge. "[Yesterday], when it became more serious and [the terms] became a little bit more favorable, we did it. We've had interest in Antoine coming back for a while, but the price was too high. Today, the price was right and we're excited to have him.

"I think Antoine can help us. He's what I refer to as a playmaker in the frontcourt, a passer/ballhandler at the power forward and center positions. That is something we've lacked. His skills and experience can help us."