Boston Celtics: 4x All-Star free agent has regrets playing for Cs in bubble

The 2020 bubble postseason was valuable for the Boston Celtics, as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, and Grant Williams all got Eastern Conference finals experience and two divisional series wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

It wasn’t ideal for every member of the Cs that decided to take the trip to Lake Buena Vista, Florida — aka Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex — to compete during the most uncertain days of the COVID-19 pandemic, though.

For Kemba Walker, the bubble stint was one he arguably hasn’t recovered from in many ways. Walker made his fourth All-Star team in February 2020 before the world stood still a month later, but he suffered from knee issues before the 2019-20 season was suspended. In returning to the bubble, Walker played his last few games as someone capable of co-starring with the ‘Jays’ before descending to a player whose presence on the court made the team marginally better — with his box plus/minus being cut in half from 2019-20 to 2020-21 and then again last season.

Walker commented on his bubble appearance in a conversation with the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn (subscription required) while in attendance at the T.D. Garden during the C’s preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets, expressing regret for having headed south back in the summer of 2020:

"“Some regrets there but I love to play basketball; I’m a competitor. We were deep in the playoffs. It was a once-in-a-lifetime type opportunity. It happens. I’m pretty sure if I was in the same situation, I probably would still play. No regrets.”"

What team would be a good fit for former Boston Celtics PG Kemba Walker

So we know the New York Knicks was not the Cinderella homecoming tale many thought it could be at MSG, but that shouldn’t mean Kemba Walker has no place in the NBA any longer. There are teams out there that could use another shooting threat in the backcourt.

The Toronto Raptors, for one, could use some veteran savvy in the backcourt behind Fred VanVleet. Elsewhere in the east, the Miami Heat are short on point guards and could welcome someone capable of spelling Kyle Lowry some nights.

Out west, the Houston Rockets would well to bring on a veteran should they prove capable of contending for a postseason spot in the first half of the season. The Memphis Grizzlies, a proven contender, wouldn’t hurt to add insurance should Ja Morant’s knee flare up again.