The Trail Blazers really did right by Walton in the beginning. In anticipation of this college basketball superstar, they not only built him a high-spec log cabin to live in and equipped him with a land cruiser for convenient travel, they met all of Walton's reasonable and unreasonable demands whenever possible.
Things like hiking, biking, and attending Grateful Dead concerts were child's play. Participating in marches and rallies for political advocacy was just a drop in the bucket.
Because Oregon is full of mountains and virgin forests, and the logging industry is thriving, one day Walton suddenly became very interested in logging and wanted to work as a lumberjack in the mountains.
Logging can be said to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with a fairly high accident fatality rate.
You're a basketball player who should be focusing on your game. Hiking and cycling are fine, but wanting to chop down big trees?