Boston Celtics rumors: Team made another mistake with Kemba Walker
By Sam Minton
Kemba Walker will miss the start of the NBA season and once again the Boston Celtics made a mistake regarding an injured player.
It seemed as though things had just started to go well for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics, but now they seem to have a problem once again. Kemba Walker is going to be out for a while.
The Celtics were able to finally announce that Gordon Hayward was a member of the Charlotte Hornets thanks to a sign and trade deal. Boston had to send some draft picks but they got the largest traded player exception in NBA history. Now the Celtics can make some moves.
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But then on Tuesday, Ainge appeared on the Toucher and Rich show and revealed some bad news. Walker will likely be out until January after receiving a stem cell injection in his left knee.
January almost seems to be a hopeful outlook for Walker. It’s likely that Walker is out longer as that will be a time when Boston determines if he is ready to appear in games.
It appears that the Celtics may deserve some blame for Kemba’s knee issues. AInge seems to believe that he might have been rushed back.
Here’s what he had to say on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Danny Ainge said the next year will tell a lot about how Kemba Walker’s knee will be moving forward. Ainge said maybe the Celtics didn’t do him justice by bringing him back so quickly in the bubble. Ainge doesn’t want to make that mistake again “if it was a mistake.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 1, 2020
Seeing that the Celtics didn’t win a championship, it seems fair to call this a mistake. If Walker wasn’t ready they should have let him get 100 percent and prepare for the next season.
The bubble was an experiment that we will likely never see again. Risking Walker’s long-term health in such a unique situation is a mishap to say the least.
There is also the fact that the Celtics are not strangers to mishandling injuries. C’s fans still remember how the medical staff handled Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving.
If Boston continues to screw with the futures of their players, will free agents want to come here? Mishandling another player is not the best look for the organization.
Ainge doesn’t usually make mistakes but it’s fair to say he did in this situation. Now it makes a lot of sense that the team drafted Payton Pritchard. It seems rather likely that he gets some significant minutes when the season starts. Also, it seems likely that we see some more of Carsen Edwards as well when the season begins.
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But the Celtics need to be smarter when it comes to dealing with injuries (especially knees). They can’t keep making the same mistake over and over again.