2019 NBA free agency: Predicting where the top free agents will land

Kemba Walker: Boston Celtics

For months, it seemed like the Charlotte Hornets re-signing Kemba Walker to a massive contract was the only possible outcome — for better or worse. Despite the team’s unruly cap situation that provided zero flexibility for bottoming out or putting a better roster around Kemba, the All-Star’s loyalty to the franchise he’d spent eight years was unwavering.

An extension would’ve been NBA purgatory for both the Hornets and Walker, but any alternative seemed unlikely.

However, even after holding onto Walker past the trade deadline, it appears as though owner Michael Jordan has had a change of heart, balking at the prospect of a supermax deal — or anything near it — for his franchise player. This has opened the door for the Boston Celtics, who are now the frontrunners to land Walker, per ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While this should hardly make Celtics fans feel better about losing both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford in the same summer, it’s an unexpected and welcome consolation prize for Danny Ainge. With Kyrie and Horford gone, the Cs can get to max cap space by renouncing Marcus Morris and restricted free agent Terry Rozier.

Walker is undersized as a defender, but he posted a career-high 25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game last year on 35.6 percent shooting from 3. He’s still only 29 years old, and though a four-year, $141 million deal sounds like a lot, he’ll help keep the Celtics afloat in the Eastern Conference playoffs as the youngsters look to take the next step forward.