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The Boston Celtics are participating in a busy week across the NBA. Boston has replaced All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, the 16th overall pick in this year’s draft, and the 2025 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in favor of Al Horford, Moses Brown, and 2023 in the second round. The Celtics announced Friday.
“Kemba is a true professional, colleague and a fantastic player,” said new Celtics team boss Brad Stevens. “I want to thank him for his tremendous impact, and the positive contribution he’s made to both the Celtics and the city of Boston.”
The Celtics were recently trying to replace the goalkeeper, who has dealt with injuries in his last two seasons with the team. However, there was a belief around the league that, due to the two years remaining and $73.6 million on his contract, it would be difficult to pull out. But in his first step as the new head of basketball operations in Boston, Brad Stevens was able to offload a major contract that was seen as a negative asset throughout the league. The Celtics also earned some value again at Horford and Brown, with the latter showing promise in his second season as a young and developing center.
“Al played a crucial role on and off the field during his time in Boston, and we are excited to welcome him and his family back to the Celtics,” Stevens said. “His ability to raise the bar for his teammates with his experience and leadership is a great plus.”
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Let’s split both sides of this trade and split some scores.
Celtics receive: Thunder receive: 2021 first-round pick (#16) 2025 second-round pick Boston Commercial Class: B
This move is more about Celtics’ financial flexibility than the players they return to in the Walker trade. By abandoning Walker’s contract, he could create so much space for Boston in the summer of 2022 that stars such as Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kohi Leonard, Zach Lavigne, Kyrie Irving, likely Jimmy Butler becoming free agents. Obviously, some of these players could re-sign with their current team or opt in for their player option, but by making more cap space it gives the Celtics room to improve their roster in the near future.
It remains unclear what the Celtics plan to do with Horford, as he could be a positive piece for next season, or they could deal with him with a selection or another player in an all-in deal. Despite being stuck on the Thunder rebuilding team after being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers off last season, Horford had his most successful solo season since his first year in Boston back in 2016. He put in 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists In 28 games before the Thunder decided to close it out for the season with the sole purpose of trading it in the end.
Horford is large and versatile with two-way capabilities, and was a standard gear in back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in Boston a few years ago. If the Celtics plan to keep him, he will surely give them some skillful depth in the frontal area. But it is also not out of the question that he is trading and the remaining two years and $53.5 million remaining in his contract. Brown would be a cheaper option to stay in the front yard, and after placing 8.6 points and nine boards in last season’s game, it could be a development project for the Celtics.
SportsLine Oklahoma City Business Class: B+
It could follow Walker’s Oklahoma City trajectory alongside what Thunder did with Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Horford, per Wojnarowski. The Thunder clearly doesn’t have the long-term necessity of Walker with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their franchise keeper, but a renewed season with OKC could turn out as positive for him as it is for the other players included. Paul took OKC to the playoffs and was able to pick his trade destination the following season and is now in the Western Conference Finals. If Walker can have a rebound season with Thunder, he will probably have the option of calling his shot where he wants to play next.
There is also the possibility that the Thunder will immediately turn around and roll, but still keep in mind its preferred destination. OKC already has a trove of draft picks that now include three first-round picks this year, including the No. 4 pick overall and the 16th pick just taken from Boston. If there was a team that was looking for an All-Star level guard and was willing to forgo the first-round pick to get it, Thunder would be happy with this deal. This deal is a win-win situation for the Thunder, whether they keep Booker ahead of the season or not, they’ve already earned a high draft to take over his contract. And if he’s able to follow in Paul’s footsteps, OKC could once again get another pile of shots to unload.
There may be more moves surrounding this initial deal, but at first glance it appears that both teams have gained solid value from this trade.
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