Boston Celtics fans are a funny bunch. Underperformance makes their skin crawl, but a certain sect of the fanbase believes the team should soldier on as is and that this season was merely a byproduct of COVID-19-related absences and injuries.
Mention Kemba Walker being traded and the pitchforks come out. Ditto for Marcus Smart, though that crowd is growing more silent as the days go by.
It’s a strange phenomenon. Some will hop on their high horse belittling the opinions of those they don’t agree with and allow the team’s lack of success to give them a reason to lash out at fellow fans.
Hardwood Houdini will not be silenced, though. Much of the points made in the preseason about Kemba Walker’s injury-proneness came to fruition this season, often leaving Brad Stevens to shift around his lineups to scrounge up a point guard option in his absence.
Oftentimes, the guy called upon to pick up those duties was Marcus Smart. Give him credit too: he took the opportunity to up his assist total to five per game. That said, his propensity to hoist up shots in hero-ball fashion oftentimes submarined the offense just as much as his passing lifted it.
Walker and Smart have one year left on their respective deals before they can explore free agency in 2022. Anyone expecting this team to magically click next season with Smart gunning for an exorbitant new salary and Walker perhaps playing for the last max contract of his career could be due for a rude awakening.
Since the Boston Celtics have proven to be nowhere close to contention and have a superstar in Jayson Tatum that could well eventually look to the exit because of what he deals with playing in Boston, perhaps they could look into upgrading their backcourt in a big way.
Should the Boston Celtics pursue the Washington Wizards duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal?
Let’s take a look at the duo and see if they would qualify as such an upgrade for the Cs: