Could this offseason be a good time for Boston Celtics to sell high on Kemba Walker?
Could the 2020 offseason be the perfect time for the Boston Celtics to sell high on All-Star point guard Kemba Walker?
I know it seems crazy to even think about. After being signed to replace the volatile walking dynamite stick Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker has been the perfect point guard for this Boston Celtics team. He has shined in his own right, but more importantly, has facilitated the rise of Jayson Tatum to All-Star status and Jaylen Brown to a near-All-Star level.
How could the C’s even ponder the thought of trading him? The answer? Long-term stability. Two bothersome tweets covered Walker’s recent injury issues. Neither gave much optimism about how Walker’s deal will age into his thirties:
Kemba on using break to better his knee: "It was super important for me. I really needed to use that break. It definitely helped me get back to myself and start to feel comfortable on my knee."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) July 1, 2020
Kemba had hyaluronic acid injections in his knee, a treatment typically reserved for knee arthritis. A large block of relative rest can be a powerful therapy, but this is an injury that will need to be managed the rest of his career. https://t.co/l2UBbwh5wt
— DocFlynn (@DocFlynnNFL) July 1, 2020
Flynn, a sports medicine doctor, made the hearts of C’s fans drop with her tweet. While she doesn’t say Walker’s injury isn’t manageable, clearly it is something that would have bothered him if the season continued on as usual. Even with this time off, Walker could have a flare-up at any given time, in the Lake Buena Vista bubble in Disney World or in the future.
That is a tough reality to have when you are paying roughly 30 percent of the salary cap to an undersized point guard reliant on his quickness and who is prone to attack the rim despite his stature.
Perhaps now is the time for Danny Ainge to see if he can cash in on Walker’s value before it declines. Another season as an All-Star starter on a team that is a legitimate contender makes him the most valuable he’s really ever been.
Being that he is one of the elite point guards in the league, there are realistically few players they should even consider trading him for. One such player, however, is Portland’s Damian Lillard. Lillard has a claim to being the top point guard in the league this season if you don’t count James Harden and Luka Dioncic as 1’s.
The salaries match up within a few million, making a straight swap feasible. Boston would obviously have to include draft picks, but if Lillard and the Trailblazers don’t make the postseason, perhaps the bad taste in his mouth could lead him to seek a trade elsewhere.
Walker may well defy the odds and continue to maintain this level of play despite the nagging injuries that will likely accompany him during his Boston Celtics tenure. That said, there’s a chance things don’t go so swimmingly. In any case, now is the time to see what could be had for Walker’s value…while it is still so high.
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