Boston Celtics rumors: Nothing personal Kemba Walker but sayonara!

When the Boston Celtics signed Kemba Walker to a max contract prior to the 2019-20 NBA season he was brought in to be everything Kyrie Irving wasn’t.

In every way, Walker was an upgrade over Kyrie when it comes to leadership, court presence and as a supporting veteran star who would compliment the team’s rising young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

What was unforeseen was that Kemba would have a bum knee that would not only affect his play on the court but keep on off the court more than he actually played.  That’s why a recent report by Bleacher Report that the Celtics and Walker want a breakup comes at no surprise.

With Brad Stevens now taking over the reigns as president of basketball operations, one of his first major obstacles as a front office guy is to find a way to move a bad contract and a player who wants a fresh start somewhere else.

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While that will be the biggest challenge, another challenge will be convincing future starts to come to Boston because the team has not had much luck with max players who chose to follow the green by wearing the green.

Boston Celtics and Kemba Walker are no longer a match

Call it bad luck, but injuries have been the biggest part of why Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford didn’t work out in Boston.

Yes, Kyrie and Isaiah came to the team as part of trades made by former president of basketball operations Danny Ainge but pending free agent decisions are what led them out of town.  So, what about Kemba?

As a player who seemed to be a fit on a team with two emerging young stars, the unavailability of Walker is what led Ainge to attempt to trade him for Jrue Holiday.  That rumor didn’t sit well with Kemba who seemed like a player ready and willing to breed green.

But, again, due to a chronic knee, Walker is closer towards the road of damaged goods than he is returning to his All-Star form.  Plus, he’s on the other side of 30.  Averaging 19.3 points per game in those games he played in 2020-21 wasn’t so shabby playing alongside two players averaging over 24 points per game, but the Celtics didn’t see that trio together all that much during a disappointing season.

Simply put, not being able to play in back-to-back games hurt the chemistry of the Celtics offense all season long.  Yes, there were glimpses of the good Kemba, but it was inconsistent at best.  Now, the Celtics and the player must move on.  They have to.

What can the Boston Celtics get for Kemba Walker?

In parting ways, if they part ways, there are some creative moves Stevens can make when it comes to Kemba Walker.

We touched on the Kristaps Porzingis possibility in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, but other teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New Orleans Pelicans could have interest in taking on the contract of Walker in exchange for bad contracts.

A possible Al Horford return, a trade that would finally land Steven Adams or Kevin Love could help the Celtics fill the need of a veteran big man although Love is probably less reliable due to injury than Kemba Walker.

The best possibility out there could be a trade with the New York Knicks.  In that scenario, the Celtics would acquire a huge trade exception like they did with the deal involving Gordon Hayward.  The Boston Celtics would send Kemba, picks and potentially young players basically for cap relief.

Unlikely, but that would be the best-case scenario other than trading for another bad contract in hopes that player works out in Boston.

In conclusion, whatever happens with Kemba Walker, the hopes is Stevens is creative enough to improve the team.  He also has to prepare for the possibility of not trading Kemba.

Can those fences be mended?  It’s possible with Ainge out of the picture, but parting ways seems to be the best way to go.