Boston Celtics fans have seen firsthand the highs and lows of Kemba Walker.
The 4x All-Star and former All-NBA Third Team selection hasn’t seen as much success as the team and their fans would have liked this season. With the Cs sitting at 19-18 and sliding into the fourth seed in the East, it has been somewhat of an underwhelming season for the team.
With Walker being one of the top options for the team, his inconsistency has been the downfall of their success so far.
With the Boston Celtics trying to save their season and make a serious playoff push, big moves must be considered–perhaps one of such moves could find itself revolving around the point guard being traded.
The Boston Celtics must consider dealing Kemba Walker at the deadline
Walker, who’s averaging 18.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on a measly 38.8% shooting and a poor 36.6% from three has been the reason that the Celtics have lost several games, with the most memorable being against the Lakers where he shot 1/12 and bricked the game-tying shot.
If there is any market whatsoever for the 30-year-old point guard, talks need to begin to develop.
As the March 25th trade deadline rapidly approaches and the playoff contenders and pretenders begin to get weeded out, we’ll begin to see players get shopped around and added to the trading block.
For teams on the cusp of playoff contention, Walker could be a valuable asset.
If the Cs have the right mindset, trading Walker for younger assets to add to the corps of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would be the best move.
With a lot of potential trade partners, the Celtics would have several different directions the team can go in after moving on from Walker.
Which teams might be interested? I’m nowhere near an expert on NBA trades so take these hypothetical deals with a grain of salt:
At the beginning of the season, the rumors broke that New Orleans was trying to get rid of Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick.
I’ve been on the Ball hype train since he was drafted and it looks like he’s finally come into his own as a player. The 23-year-old point guard still has a ton of potential and fits in perfectly with the group that the Boston Celtics have right now.
His role is a defensive playmaker/ pass-first floor general that still has the ability to take over offensively if need be. The Cs weren’t one of Ball’s preferred teams for if he were to get traded but after spending half a season in Boston, under the lights, it may be enough to sway him.
The addition of J.J. Redick would do wonders for the offense coming off the bench. A spot-up 3-point shooter, Redick playing alongside Payton Pritchard off the pine would be a lethal shooting duo from deep.
Finally returning to a championship contender could light a spark under him and getting back towards his efficiency in his days with the Clippers.
Jaxson Hayes is included in this trade because he doesn’t really have a role for the Pelicans. Primarily playing in garbage time, it doesn’t seem that he will be part of the long-term future with the team. His addition would make for a roster crowded with bigs but, being he’s relatively young, he still has a ton of trade value.
Wenyen Gabriel was purely thrown in this trade to make salaries match.
The second-round pick heading to the Pelicans in this scenario is just to spice up the deal for New Orleans so that the values would match. It would be towards the end of the second round so it doesn’t have a ton of value for Boston so it wouldn’t hurt to trade it away.
Grant Williams going to the Pelicans is to level the value of assets being exchanged. He doesn’t get much playing time for the Cs and when he does play, it’s not pretty. He’s still young and has time to grow so New Orleans might have some interest.
Well here comes the Bulls. With a team that is on the fringe of making the playoffs, Chicago might be looking to make a big splash at the deadline. Having an extremely young team in the wings, the Bulls need firm leadership and experience. Zach Lavine can’t do it alone and unless all these young guys the Bulls have magically turn into superstars, a trade needs to be made.
Coby White is the primary piece in this trade. He’s very young at only 21 years old, and still a very raw player. Having not come into his own yet, White is a very inconsistent player that needs stability in his career in order to succeed. He’s not going to have that with the Bulls and I think the front office will realize that.
The Bulls have the opportunity to acquire a proven commodity to pair alongside Lavine and create an All-Star caliber duo in the Windy City. The addition of Kemba Walker would definitely make Chicago a more favorable destination for free agents as they’d theoretically be one piece away from title contention. Having been rumored to be on the trade block, don’t be surprised if the Bulls elect to replace White with Walker.
Otto Porter Jr. had a promising start to his career in Chicago, but his spark has fizzled out. Ruined by injuries, Porter Jr. is a shell of the player he once was. In Boston, he’d have a chance to revive his career and become a key contributor as a low-end starter or a bench piece. With all the pressure taken off his shoulders, we might see success in a new system. The Celtics would just have to eat that terrible contract.
Ricky Rubio is the pass-first playmaker that the Boston Celtics have lacked since prime Rajon Rondo. Rubio made his triumphant return to Minnesota in 2020 in the three-team trade involving the Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Detroit Pistons.
With whatever they were planning in Minnesota clearly not working for them, the team could look to trade for another star in hopes of forming a big three with Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Rubio, still being a valuable asset to a potential championship contender, would likely be involved in a trade.
Malik Beasley is currently serving a twelve-game suspension for his arrest revolving around a charge of threatening violence. With a new regime coming in following the firing of Head Coach Ryan Saunders, they may look to part ways with Beasley for his antics off the court. He has been the lone bright spot for the Timberwolves up until the incident occurred, averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 46 percent from the field and 41% from the 3-point line.
Beasley would be a quality bench piece for the Celtics and his scoring potential would make him a leading candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award in the future. He could be that spark plug that the bench needs to get going and keep the Boston Celtics in games late.
Every team values other players differently so there’s no guarantee that any of these trades would even be in the realm of possibility in these team’s eyes but hey, it’s worth a shot right?