Kemba Walker is heading to Oklahoma City. The Boston Celtics traded the 31-year-old point guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and a future 2nd round pick for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and a future 2nd round pick. It is a simple deal for the Thunder. It is a deal that makes a lot of sense for the Celtics. In his first move as President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens has made a massive trade, so let’s dive into it, and have a brief recap on the Kemba Walker Celtics era.
On June 30th, 2019, the Boston Celtics looked like they could be in trouble. They lost Kyrie Irving to the Nets, Al Horford to the 76ers (look who's back), Marcus Morris to the Knicks, and Terry Rozier to the Hornets. They had max cap space and needed some life. Kemba Walker chose to be a Celtic. No, it did not end well but it was a needed move, this was before the Jayson Tatum breakout, they needed a star, and Kemba Walker was seen as that star. However, stuff happens. Walker’s knee was not great from the start and he was never able to live up to the billing, especially after he got hurt after the 2020 All-Star break. It was never the same after that point, yes Kemba was awesome in Boston’s run to the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, but he was limited all season and missed the Celtics last two playoff games in their series loss to the Nets. Boston needed to make a change, and they made a big one.
Al Horford signed a max contract with the Boston Celtics on July 2nd, 2016. He was awesome during his time in green, making it to 2 conference finals in 3 seasons. He can slide into the starting center role if that’s what the Celtics want him to do, or he can come off the bench. Moses Brown is an interesting part of this deal. Brown is a 21-year-old center who has 3 years left on his contract, at a very small number, and averaged 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds this past season in 43 games for the Thunder, including a 21 point and 23 rebound performance against the Celtics in March. However, this deal is all about dumping the Walker contract for the Celtics. 2yrs/$73 million for the often injured point guard is borderline toxic, and giving up the 16th pick and a second round pick is not a bad move, to clear future money. They need to have the ball in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s hands more often and this trade allows that. They need guard help, and that can come through trade or a free agent. Overall, this is a good move for the Celtics.
Does Kemba Walker play for the Thunder at all? I’m not sure, though it seems likely he does. He can pair with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to potentially create a dynamic backcourt. OKC can also try to move Walker. There are 2 teams who I believe would be the best fits for Walker: the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks deal is simple, they have the cap space to just absorb Walker’s contract. They could send the Thunder 2018 lottery pick Kevin Knox and call it a day. To me, that makes sense for both sides. However, a Bulls deal is intriguing as well, as it allows OKC to get closer to the cap floor. Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Tomas Satoransky could be a potential return in that trade. However, I think Walker remains in OKC for the season but with 2 years left on his contract, that could be risky for the Thunder, because he can opt-out next season (it is very unlikely he does but it is an option). This deal for OKC is all about the pick. Number 16 overall in what seems to be a very good 2021 draft class looks like a solid fetch for the Thunder. Josh Giddy, Kai Jones, and Zhaire Williams are all players that the Thunder could grab at that spot. The Thunder are set to have three 1st round picks in the 2021 draft after the Walker trade.
The Celtics and Thunder made a trade that makes a lot of sense for both sides. Oklahoma City gets an extra first round pick to take back a bad Kemba Walker contract and Boston clears out a bad contract while also becoming deeper at the center position. There is not really a winner in this trade, both teams did relatively well. Now, the question for both teams becomes, what is next?
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