The 2020-21 Boston Celtics season is a sinking ship that has torpedoed since the return of Kemba Walker to the lineup.
I’m not dense. It’s not all his fault. Marcus Smart’s injury has not helped matters, while inconsistent rotations due to COVID-19 positive tests have butchered the potential to form a rapport with the whole lineup. He wasn’t even in the lineup for last night’s 15-point blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Still, it’s hard not to point at Walker’s rising salary over the next two seasons after this one and not be perturbed that his return hasn’t elevated the team to the level a max contract player should.
While Walker remains one of the most exciting players to watch perform on the floor–with his controlled-yet-chaotic dives to the rim still capable of producing some of the most feel-good highlights in today’s game–there are situations around the league that would bring out more positives in his game than Boston could at this point.
The team has a potential next man up in Payton Pritchard, who has exceeded expectations in a big way in his rookie year. Marcus Smart could also reprise his role in the starting five as the de-facto 1 while sharing playmaking duties with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
W-alker, meanwhile, could escape a Boston market that expects consistent contention and serve a more important role in a different lineup. Remember, he was the Summer 2019 All-NBA signing that was usurped in shot attempts by Jayson Tatum by season’s after injuries took him out of the lineup last February.
He could play less of a role elsewhere and be less of a scapegoat on a team with postseason goals a tad less gaudy than Boston’s.
Today, Indiana is the target landing spot for Walker and Myles Turner is the primary target the Cs should target in return:
Why the Boston Celtics do it
Myles Turner has long been the apple of our eye, and FanSided’s Josh Wilson made a guest appearance on HH to explain why not getting the Pacers center in return for Gordon Hayward was a failure:
"Myles Turner is a very impactful rim-protecting center that the Boston Celtics sorely need. Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter did what they could last season, but neither has the size or athleticism to play up above the rim on the defensive end. Turner does it better than most. Within six feet of the rim, of players who faced at least five attempts per game within that range on the defensive end, Turner forced the ninth-best decline in field goal percentage for opponents (-10.9 percent). Beyond that very direct stat, Turner is one of the most feared rim protectors in the league, which means he very well may dissuade opponents from even attempting shots."
The Cs have lacked a center that has inspired true fear in the heart of opposing drivers since Kevin Garnett was traded to Brooklyn. Amir Johnson, Al Horford, and Aron Baynes all contributed to a sturdy Cs defense, but Turner would once again give Boston a shot-blocking force to complete was has been an overall strong defensive unit since Brad Stevens made his way to Beantown.
Along with Turner, T.J. Warren was always someone the Houdini has targeted in deals (mostly involving Gordon Hayward throughout the past two seasons). While a foot injury has kept Warren out of the lineup since a December 29th loss to the Boston Celtics in Indiana, he showcased his isolation abilities on the national stage in the bubble last summer in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Finally, Caris LeVert is a wild card. He has been absent after a life-saving procedure caught a cancerous growth in his kidney, but he could also return sooner than later given the recent green light given to him to return practicing with teammates.
If he can return to be the player he was in Brooklyn, this would be a steal of a deal for Boston, despite the high cost of such a deal.
Why the Indiana Pacers do it
Given the absences of Warren and LeVert from the lineup, the current #4 seed in the Eastern Conference would essentially be swapping out Myles Turner’s production with Kemba Walker’s…while also nabbing four future draft picks in return.
Indiana’s top priorities are Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon, and Walker could be the veteran complement that could guide them through choppy waters in the postseason. With two point guards, the team’s shooting specialists (Jeremy Lamb, Doug McDermott, Justin Holiday) would likely find the increased frequency of ball movement and dribble breakdowns of opposing defenses conducive to better looks on the floor.
Why the Boston Celtics do it
Like the last deal (and as the article title suggests) Myles Turner is the primary target in a return for Kemba Walker. The trade-off of a descending point guard on the wrong side of 30 for an ascending center in his mid-twenties is the goal in any deal, and it will obviously take draft picks to get it done.
That said, this is much less of an all-in offer. In fact, despite the fact that the last offer brings back three potential starters and this deal fetches just one, the complementary nature of Doug McDermott and Jeremy Lamb compared to Warren and LeVert’s more ball-dominant games could make them smoother lineup fits in Boston.
Why the Indiana Pacers do it
Once again, adding Walker to Brogdon and Sabonis is the key to the deal on Indiana’s end (in addition to the draft compensation from the Cs) but this iteration allows them to keep Warren and LeVert, who could complete the starting lineup with the aforementioned trio.
For Indiana, this is a shift from a frontcourt focus (with Sabonis/Turner) to a backcourt focus (with Walker/Brogdon) but Walker’s superior speed and rim attacks opens up another dynamic to a Pacers offense that would have increased spacing and more room for Sabonis to operate in the post.
While the move doesn’t necessarily make Indiana a bona fide contender in the east, it strengthens their future prospects in a season where getting past the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference may be too tall of a task regardless of what moves the Pacers make.