Boston Celtics: Drafting a guard could be priority with Kemba’s knee issues

Though Kemba Walker is playing every bit like a franchise cornerstone for the Boston Celtics, his knee issues may force Danny Ainge to prioritize drafting a point guard come October.

Heading into the NBA Disney bubble, the Boston Celtics are being viewed as true dark horse contenders.

Though we see the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks hovering above them in the league’s power rankings, the shamrocks still find themselves soundly in the mix. In fact, of the remaining 22 teams participating in Orlando, some have gone as far as to argue Boston’s lineup consists of the league’s best starting five.

This year has been a triumph for the C’s organization and a true feel-good story for the fanbase as a whole. After a letdown season that was 2018-19, followed by an offseason that saw a plethora of roster shakeups, Danny Ainge managed to construct a team that has managed to produce at an even higher rate than the ones of years past.

There are many contributing factors as to why the Celtics have found so much success throughout this campaign: Jayson Tatum‘s ascension into an All-Star, Jaylen Brown‘s much improved all-around game, Gordon Hayward finally being both physically and mentally healthy.

However, quite possibly the biggest contributor to the team’s success this season has been their marquee free agent from last offseason, Kemba Walker.

Through 50 games played, the All-Star point guard is producing at quite an impressive rate, boasting averages of 21.2 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on 42 percent shooting from the floor, 38 percent shooting from deep and a career-high box plus/ minus of 4.7.

Proving to be the perfect leader for this young and talented Boston Celtics team, thus far Walker has earned every penny of his $35 million a year average salary.

Filling in at the most important position in modern-day basketball, when healthy the perennial All-Star makes this team one of the most menacing units in the entire NBA. However, though seen as somewhat of an “Iron Man” throughout the majority of his career, health has been somewhat of an up in the air thing for the point guard in 2019-20.

Due to a nagging left knee injury, Walker missed quite a few games throughout the regular season and spent the time off during the COVID-19 induced hiatus giving himself the rest he desperately needed.

Despite this recovery period, however, there are many who believe that though he will be healthy heading into the Disney bubble, Walker’s knee alignment will likely affect him for the rest of his playing career.

As we’re all well aware, having the right fit at point guard is the key factor in making Brad Stevens’ scheme shine. Walker has easily proven to be a fantastic fit within the Boston Celtics’ system at the one, and with him in the lineup, they are one of the best units in the association.

That said, with him out of the lineup the Cs have proven to struggle significantly, specifically on offense. Though they managed to accumulate a record of 10-4 with Walker sidelined this season, it was evident Boston was far from looking like the championship contender they normally do with him on the court.

Having a player who can run the team’s offense is key, and with the All-Star out it’s apparent Boston doesn’t have that in their current crop of backup point guards.

Typically speaking, when needed, Marcus Smart is tasked with being slotted into the starting lineup to replace Walker. While Smart is a tremendous player in his own right, and is unbelievably valuable to the team, he is by no means a prototypical one guard to help step in and run the C’s offense á la Terry Rozier circa 2017-18 when need be.

Add in the fact that the team is likely to move on from their senior citizen sophomore backup guard, Brad Wanamaker, and it’s quite evident that, come the offseason, Beantown will be looking to make some changeups to the rotation behind Walker.

In the past, we’ve brought up a few options to fill this position via the free agency route but, frankly, the organization could just as easily look to the draft to accomplish this goal.

Currently holding the rights to three separate selections, the Boston Celtics are flush with draft capital that could wind up becoming much-needed talents on incredibly cheap deals. Though we’ve discussed the idea of the Celtics nabbing a baller to bolster their lackluster pivot rotation — *cough *cough Jalen Smith *cough *cough — moving forward, perhaps, what with Kemba Walker’s knee issues, the front office could shift their sights towards finding the ideal backup at point guard.

Though not known for being an incredibly stacked draft in terms of “generational talents”, the upcoming class of 2020 is known to be relatively deep, including at the point guard position.

From notable names such a LaMelo Ball and Cole Anthony to perhaps lesser-known ballers like Killian Hayes, Tyrese Haliburton, and Kira Lewis Jr. this upcoming crop of prospective NBA point guards is quite deep in terms of talent.

While we here at the Houdini still believe the team should focus on improving upon their frontcourt rotation with their picks, don’t be surprised if Danny Ainge places a priority on an insurance policy for their talented, yet potentially damaged franchise point guard.