Boston Celtics: 4 Cs who could be on trade block by March deadline

Kemba Walker

It may be a controversial opinion, and yes, he did just return.

But trading Kemba Walker is the best path to acquiring a star that can match the impact James Harden will have on the Nets that doesn’t include Jaylen Brown.

And no, that doesn’t mean trading Walker guarantees a player at Harden’s level either. But his $34 million salary is the best option to deal to bring in either one player or multiple to adequately replace his production.

Walker has had success with the Celtics, but from a long-term perspective, his balky knee and depreciating contract (at least relative to Walker’s battle with Father Time) make him an asset that is peaking…or already peaked.

Trading high, considering Walker is still a reigning NBA All-Star starter and 20+ points per game scorer, is Danny Ainge’s best course of action right now.

If you look around the league, shaking things up could be the one way for teams to feel confident going up against Brooklyn in the postseason. Walker could easily be billed as a savior for a team like the Knicks or the Bulls, but he could also fit in Philadelphia alongside (or even in place of) Ben Simmons with Joel Embiid manning the middle and making up for whatever defensive gaffes the undersized point guard makes.