Boston Celtics: Enes Kanter would take Kemba Walker over Kyrie Irving “any day” — and justifiably so

BOSTON - JULY 17: New Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, left, and center Enes Kanter, right, stand with Celtics president Danny Ainge during an introductory press conference at the Auerbach Center in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on July 17, 2019. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - JULY 17: New Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, left, and center Enes Kanter, right, stand with Celtics president Danny Ainge during an introductory press conference at the Auerbach Center in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on July 17, 2019. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Fellow new Boston Celtics free agent addition Enes Kanter has sky high praise for All-Star point guard Kemba Walker. While Kyrie Irving is oft considered the superior talent, the veteran center prefers Walker “any day”  to Boston’s former “face of the franchise” — the Houdini couldn’t agree more.

Enes Kanter made waves when he showed strong support for new teammate, Kemba Walker, at the expense of former Boston Celtics point guard, Kyrie Irving. Saying he would take Walker “any day” to Irving, the eighth year pro has shown he prefers a style of play less suited for hero ball tactics.

Though Irving, viewed as one of the top-tier talents in the NBA today, found great individual success during his time in green and white, the team as a whole never seemed to flourish to their fullest potential.

In particular, Jaylen Brown struggled mightily during the 2019-20 season and eventually lost his starting spot. The former third overall pick appeared to have lost confidence as the year progressed, and recent reports have suggested Irving may have been the catalyst.

Now with the 6x All-Star out of Beantown, Brown is in a prime position to potentially return to his 2018 playoff form. Though the NBA regular season is still over a month away, the 22-year-old is showing glimpses of a potential breakout 2019 campaign.

During this summer’s FIBA World Cup exhibitions, Brown has proven to be one of the team’s go-to options on the offensive side of the ball. While he has already shown himself to be capable of excelling on offense, could this resurgence be a result of playing alongside his new Boston Celtics running mate Walker?

As previously mentioned, with Irving in tow, Boston never seemed to reach the heights many had hoped for. According to Enes Kanter, this may have been a result of lacking team chemistry.

"“Kyrie’s definitely one of the best point guards. When I was with Portland & we played the Celtics [in Boston] I could feel the chemistry wasn’t there. There was like a negative energy. …”"

That negative energy figures to subside with Walker in the fold. The notably well-liked point guard was nominated for the NBA’s Sportsmanship award as recently as this past season and won the award in both 2017 and 2018. The hope is that it isn’t coincidental that the former Cal-product is taking off in his first experience with Walker as a teammate.

"“Kemba is a really good leader” Kanter said. “I’ll definitely pick Kemba any day over Kyrie.”"

If that could translate over into the 2019-20 season, the Boston Celtics will immediately be in a better position to contend this year than they were with Irving. Like any team sport, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A career-year from Brown coupled with a happy and motivated Kanter may be all the proof needed that Walker is the better fit for the Celtics than Irving ever could have been.