There's talk around the NBA lately that the Pacers and Hawks have interest in making a deal: Artest and Scot Pollard for Antoine Walker. It makes a lot of sense for both teams, though Bird says he hasn't talked with Atlanta. It would get the NBA off the hook for perhaps an excessive punishment to one of its model franchises. The Pacers need a forward to replace Artest; Jackson's playing there now.

There's much suggested about Walker being a selfish shooter, but he rarely has been coached in his NBA career. Walker is a major talent, one, it should be noted, Bird always has admired. It pays for Atlanta to take a chance on an All-Star for a player they will lose for nothing to free agency in a few months of a lost season. Plus, Hawks general manager Billy Knight is a Donnie Walsh protege and likely wouldn't mind helping his old mentor. The Pacers went to New York recently to meet with Commissioner David Stern to plead for mercy, at least for the franchise and the community.

Bird says if anything happens again with Artest, he wouldn't be surprised if he got a lifetime ban. Remember what Bird said when the team suspended Artest earlier this season because he wanted to take time off to promote his album?

"Ronnie called me from the trainers' room and asked me to come down and talk," Bird recalled. "The kid was shook up. I said, `What's the problem?' He told me and I said, `No, you didn't! You did not!' "I said, `Ronnie, this is not good.' But he's a heck of a player and a heck of a guy. He does a lot in the community, things for a lot of people. But he has emotional problems. He's wired. He gets out there and things don't go his way and he doesn't like it. It's something he has to work on or he's not going to be in this league. If I were playing with Ronnie, I would have said, `Go home and don't come back.' It's like quittin' on your team. But I can guarantee when he comes back, he'll be different. No one goes through what he has and doesn't change." Chicago Tribune