Kemba Walker has shown signs of still being a productive player at certain times for the Boston Celtics this season, including scoring 29 points in the play-in game recently against the Washington Wizards.
However, his inconsistency and lingering injury issues have made things difficult in terms of his value to the Celtics.
Add on to that his $36 million owed next season and nearly $38 million player option (that he will almost certainly exercise) the following season, and you’ve got a player whose trade value has plummeted, and a bad contract that will limit roster flexibility for the C’s each of the next two offseasons.
Taking all of that into consideration, while the Celtics should definitely try to trade Kemba this offseason, it will be very hard to find a trade for him that makes sense from another team’s perspective.
However, here are three trades that I’ve come up with that I feel not only make sense for the Celtics but make a lot of sense from the other team’s perspective as well.
Each team involved in the trades is in a unique situation in terms of the organization’s current outlook (rebuilding, retooling, pushing for a championship) and each trade is unique in the number of players involved.
Why the Boston Celtics do this deal:
While the Boston Celtics would be getting rid of Kemba’s not-great contract in this trade, they’d be getting one back in return in Al Horford, which sounds counter-intuitive on the surface.
However, Al Horford would be a better fit with the current Celtics roster and would provide a skillset at the center spot and at times the power forward position that the Celtics haven’t really had since, well… Al Horford himself.
Looking at the current center rotation for the Celtics, they have Tristan Thompson and Rob Williams, who are both solid options.
However, when the Celtics have wanted to play smaller, they’ve been forced to turn to Grant Williams often at center to the dismay of many Celtic fans, or even Jayson Tatum at center…with neither being a recipe for success long term.
Getting a versatile guy like Horford who mainly at the center position, even at the age of 35, can still provide solid outside shooting, inside and perimeter defense, and rebounding, would be a huge boost to the rotation.
While he definitely isn’t the same player as his previous stint with the Celtics, he can still give solid production in areas this current C’s roster desperately needs.
Giving up this year’s first round pick in a deep draft class hurts, but if the C’s truly want to go all-in to win a championship within the next few seasons, draft picks really don’t mean all that much, especially if two years of Al Horford is viewed as significantly better than 2 more years of Kemba Walker given their contracts and skillsets.
Why the Oklahoma City Thunder do this deal:
Given the OKC Thunder are rebuilding and were perfectly fine with Al Horford sitting out last season in order to tank for a better pick, there is really no reason for them to help out the Celtics with a straight swap of Kemba for Horford.
That is why the Celtics including a 1st round pick along with Kemba is probably the minimum requirement for them to be willing to do a deal like this.
The pick is set in stone at number 16 in this year’s deep draft class, making it the icing on the cake.
Looking at the current lottery odds, the Thunder could possibly have two picks in the top five as a best-case scenario.
However, if they are unlucky, they could also have no picks in the top five.
If the lottery doesn’t work out the way the Thunder hope it does, another pick in this year’s draft would be very beneficial, and could even be packaged with another one of their first-round picks to move up and ensure they get a player they want.
That added insurance is most definitely worth it if all they have to give up is a player who only played in 28 out of 72 games last season, which mostly wasn’t due to injury.
Given Thunder general manager Sam Presti loves stockpiling draft picks, the Thunder and Horford have already mutually agreed to try to orchestrate a trade this offseason, and the Celtics would love a Horford reunion, this trade makes a lot of sense for both sides.
Why the Boston Celtics do this deal:
This deal is somewhat similar to the Al Horford deal in the sense that both Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams have two years left on their contracts, just like Kemba.
However, what is different is that Adams and Bledsoe aren’t as seamless as fits with the current roster as Horford, but also make a combined $35 million next season compared to Horford’s $27 million and Kemba’s $36 million.
Based on those two things, and the fact that the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t in rebuild mode like the Thunder means that the Pelicans don’t have the same leverage as the Thunder in a deal and therefore, shouldn’t require the C’s to give a 1st round pick to pull off this deal.
That doesn’t mean that Adams and Bledsoe wouldn’t contribute to the rotation, however.
Adams, while having a somewhat similar skill set to Rob Williams and Tristan Thompson, would be an upgrade barring Rob Will takes another huge leap next season.
Bledsoe, while not the best outside shooter, is at least somewhat respectable at 34% from three, and is a good defender who can play both guard positions (think like Marcus Smart’s skillset but with less hustle).
Even though Adams and Bledsoe are somewhat similar to players currently on the roster, acquiring them for Kemba gives them two contracts that are more tradable if necessary (Adams will make $17 million while Bledsoe will make $18 million next season) than Kemba’s contract, and also provides more depth at two positions of need.
On top of that, the C’s can then feel more comfortable trading guys like Marcus Smart (who seems likely to be traded this offseason at this point), Tristan Thompson, and Rob Williams, all guys with decent trade value who can net the C’s players in other areas of need.
Essentially, the main pull of this deal is making a deal in order to make it easier to make other, more helpful deals while also shedding Kemba’s contract without having to give up a 1st round pick.
Why the New Orleans Pelicans do this deal:
The Pelicans look at this trade as a way of getting rid of two overpaid players who don’t fit well with their current roster for one vastly overpaid player who fits better with their current roster.
The interesting thing with Kemba is that he plays like a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, so whether the Pelicans resign restricted free agent Lonzo Ball or not, Kemba would fit pretty well.
If the Pelicans do manage to resign Ball, Kemba would be the third scoring option and fourth playmaking option most likely, whereas he was asked to be the third scoring option but at times primary playmaking option for the C’s, which in hindsight may have been asking too much out of him.
If the Pelicans didn’t resign Ball in this scenario, Kemba would serve as his replacement at point guard, and still would be behind Zion and Ingram in the team pecking order.
As long as the Pelicans can still afford Ball, I personally feel like they will try to resign him, and I also personally feel they should pursue a guy like Myles Turner if they can somehow make a trade work with their remaining cap space and some of the remaining young players and picks they have.
If they went on to make this move for Kemba and acquire Myles Turner, they’d have an amazing starting lineup of Kemba Walker, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Myles Turner.
If they are able to afford that while having some minimum contract and rookie contract players off the bench that can contribute respectable minutes, that would be a dangerous young team.
Considering Zion is still on his rookie contract, that gives the Pelicans more room to hold multiple big contracts, which makes that lineup a possibility with good maneuvering of the salary cap.
If Kemba doesn’t work out, the Pelicans can just let his contract expire and resign Zion after his team option ends that same offseason to what will most likely be a max contract, and retool the rest of the roster.
In the end, if the Pelicans feel like forming the dangerous lineup I mentioned is worth taking on Kemba’s contract while also creating a supporting cast that better fits around their stars in Zion and Ingram, then this trade should be beneficial for both sides.
Why the Boston Celtics do this deal:
The main reason the Celtics would do this deal is adding depth.
A lot of people would agree with me when I say one of the C’s biggest flaws last season was lack of depth, so making a three-for-one deal and gaining two rotational pieces should improve the depth greatly.
Taking a look at the players in the deal specifically, Luke Kennard, whose three-year, $41 million extension will kick in next season, will provide good shooting and playmaking off the bench, and could serve as a replacement for Evan Fournier if he and the C’s can’t agree on a deal this offseason.
Kennard is also only 24, so along with having a few years on his contract, could improve down the line and serve as a serviceable option off the bench for multiple years.
Ivica Zubac, while not the stretch big the C’s really need, would provide an inside-scoring presence that Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams don’t currently provide.
Zubac isn’t the best defensively, but he is a good rebounder, so he’d probably provide good production off the bench, somewhat like what Enes Kanter provided last season for the C’s, and at the age of 24, like Kennard, Zubac has room to improve.
In Patrick Beverley, the C’s would gain a gritty, feisty defensive point guard with solid outside shooting, who, like Bledsoe, could possibly serve as a replacement for Marcus Smart if he gets moved in a separate deal.
Although Beverley isn’t as versatile of a player as Smart considering he’s a few inches smaller, he provides a similar skill set, but with better spot-up shooting and worse playmaking.
An added bonus to this deal is the Celtics shouldn’t have to include any picks, considering the Clippers don’t value them that highly when taking into account the trade they made for Paul George and their win-now approach.
On top of this deal, if the Clippers also ask for Tristan Thompson, the C’s could then ask for former Celtic NBA champion Rajon Rondo, who would fit nicely with his playmaking, defense, and leadership, which would then make it a four for two deal.
Thompson would replace Zubac in the rotation, and be more useable in the playoffs
If the Celtics view these three players as key rotational pieces even if they are all slightly overpaid, it would make a lot of sense to essentially move one vastly overpaid player for three slightly overpaid players who can still provide solid production and would be more tradeable down the line.
Why the Clippers do this deal:
After trading what felt like a million picks to acquire Paul George and ensure they also acquired Kawhi Leonard, many people felt the Clippers had a great chance of winning at least one championship, if not more.
However, after blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2nd round last season and finishing as only the 4 seed this season, their championship window is starting to get smaller and smaller.
After barely scraping by the Dallas Mavericks in 7 games in the first round of the playoffs, who are basically entirely one player albeit an amazing player in Luka Doncic, they will face the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the second round.
While the Clippers have a fighting chance of moving on, if they do end up losing to the Jazz, another second-round exit would be very disappointing for them.
That could lead to them becoming desperate this offseason and feeling it necessary to add a third star-caliber player to the roster.
While Kemba has been inconsistent and injury-prone with the C’s, he is still a star-caliber player at his best, so the Clippers could benefit greatly from acquiring him.
In terms of fit, considering star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have somewhat similar skillsets as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Kemba’s role probably wouldn’t be all that different.
However, the Clippers have a better defensive team around those two than the Celtics currently do, so that weakness to Kemba’s game would be better covered up.
On top of that, all the Clippers would have to give up for Kemba are three players, who while all provided solid production during the regular season, didn’t contribute a whole lot against the Mavericks in the playoffs.
Zubac was the only player of the three who played in all 7 games, and also had the highest minutes per game of the three at only 14 minutes a game.
While Kemba isn’t exactly the third star the Clippers will have in mind entering this offseason, he is most likely the easiest third option to acquire given his contract.
If the Clippers don’t view any of the three players they give up in this deal as long-term rotational pieces and believe Kemba Walker can provide significant production for them when healthy, then both sides should feel good about making this deal.