Forgotten win-now Boston Celtics trade still a home run despite Alperen Sengun's emergence
UPROXX's Bill Difilippo sees the Boston Celtics' 2021 offseason swap of Kemba Walker for Al Horford a massive win despite one of those picks eventually becoming Alperen Sengun; an emerging near-star on the Houston Rockets.
"Between Horford making less money and just flat out being a better player than a physically compromised Walker at that point, it made a ton of sense at the time, even if giving up a first was a tough pill to swallow and it’s fun to imagine what this Celtics team would look like with Sengun on board if you’re assuming he’d develop into a star with them," Difilippo wrote.
"But even with Sengun’s involvement, this trade has been a home run."
The Rockets acquired Sengun in a draft-night trade with the OKC Thunder, the team who landed Walker as a salary-match, for a second first-round pick and a pair of future first-round picks. Houston saw a need for a project, something Boston probably wouldn't have had an eye on anyway.
Al Horford has been everything the Boston Celtics have needed as contender
Returning Horford to the Cs was the table-setting move that brought Boston back to the Finals in year one. It's already generated two Finals appearances in three seasons. Brad Stevens started off his tenure as Celtics President of Basketball Operations hot with the deal.
Looking into the details of his last three seasons in Boston, you see how irreplaceable he's been. Robert Williams III was unhealthy during the C's 2022 playoff run and for the first few months of the 2022-23 season. He had to step up then, and he's stepped up in 2024 in Kristaps Porzingis's absence due to injury as well.
Before the Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White deals, there was the Horford return. That was the first move to support the Jays to lay the foundation for a championship-caliber squad.
One wonders if Stevens would've even been as aggressive building a winner if he didn't know he had the core to succeed with Horford in tow.