DALLAS (AP) – Antoine Walker insists he’s a changed man.

Forget that shoot-first attitude he had for seven seasons in Boston. He’s a member of the Dallas Mavericks now. And, on Tuesday, before putting on his new jersey for the first time, he made it clear that he’s ready to sacrifice his scoring average if that’s what it takes to fit into his new team.

Seated between team owner Mark Cuban and coach Don Nelson, Walker vowed to play whatever role he’s asked, realizing that Dallas won 60 games without him last season and already has proven scorers in Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Antawn Jamison.

“I think it’s a special situation,” Walker said in his first appearance at American Airlines Center since being acquired from the Celtics in a five-player trade Monday. “You very seldom have the opportunity to play with guys of All-Star caliber like this. I don’t want to spoil this opportunity.”

Walker and Tony Delk were sent south by new Celtics head of basketball operations Danny Ainge. To get them, Dallas gave up Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills and a first-round pick next season.

The former Mavericks hadn’t completed physicals in Boston as of Tuesday night, so the trade technically wasn’t a done deal yet, forcing Walker and Delk to miss Dallas’ preseason game against Utah. They’re likely to play Wednesday night in Sacramento if the deal is finalized in time.

In Boston, Walker and Paul Pierce combined to average nearly half the team’s points over the last three seasons. He won’t be asked to do that on the Mavericks, as the biggest question surrounding them is how the shots will be divvied up between so many capable players.

“It’s tough trying to score 25, 30 points every night,” said Walker, whose method was putting up 19.9 shots per game last season, with more than seven from 3-point range.

Still, Walker knows Dallas didn’t get him to be a role player. The ball will go through his hands plenty, but often it will be so he can find the player with the best chance to score. For all his shooting, he did lead Boston in assists the last three seasons.

Nelson has long coveted a forward capable of handling a point guard’s duties. On this team, it frees Nash to occasionally roam the court looking for his shot. He did that successfully last season when paired with Nick Van Exel, but he’s now with Golden State. Cuban said he doesn’t expect Walker to average double-figures in points, rebounds and assists. But he would like Walker to lead the league in triple-doubles. Walker said he “would love for that to be my game.”

“That’ll be an indication that things are going well,” said Cuban, acknowledging that Dallas is trying to cover its weakness on defense by loading up on offensive playmakers.

Walker has followed the Mavs for years, mostly because he’s been friends with Finley since high school. The two Chicago natives have worked out together the last two summers.

Earlier this summer, Walker saw Cuban in Los Angeles and asked several times, “When are you going to come get me?”

Cuban said there were talks months ago about an even bigger trade than the one pulled off Monday. That deal, he said, came together rather quickly.

It wasn’t a surprise, though, because Walker always thought Ainge didn’t want him.

“Danny Ainge has a whole different direction that he’s going with that team. And obviously I wasn’t a major part of that,” Walker said.

Delk is joining his sixth team in eight seasons. Wherever he’s been, he’s always had big games against the Mavs, prompting Cuban to joke last season that he was going to trade for Delk just to stop him. Like Walker, Delk was hoping that would happen.

“This is an organization I’ve been looking at for many years,” Delk said. “I’m really excited about being here.”

Mavericks players and officials apparently aren’t the only ones excited by the deal. Cuban said he was overwhelmed by more positive e-mails than he’s received following any previous move during his 31/2 years in charge.

“I’m not talking about one or two people who are friends or went to college with him. I’m talking about 100-plus e-mails saying I’m now a Dallas Mavericks fan, how soon can I buy a jersey?” Cuban said. “I was totally surprised that he had so much emotional support.”

Jerseys aren’t the only Walker-related item Cuban hopes to sell. He’s also hoping to cash in on Walker’s signature shoulder shake to celebrate big baskets.

“I’ve got to find a way to make money off this shimmy thing,” Cuban said.

AP-ES-10-21-03 2052EDT