Boston Celtics: Analyzing the Kemba Walker signing halfway through the year
Kemba Walker has played half a season with the Boston Celtics, and it’s time to see how the team has fared with him leading the way.
Flashback to the summer of 2019: Kyrie Irving rumors were swirling ahead of free agency, and it was more likely than not that he would be suiting up for a different team than the Boston Celtics. He was being connected to hometown teams such as the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. Others saw a connection to LeBron James and a reunion together with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Irving wound up signing with the Brooklyn Nets, avoiding the Knicks and still managing to go “home”. Along with his departure was Al Horford‘s choice to leave the C’s. He went to a different division rival, the Philadelphia 76ers, to join forces with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Long story short, the Celtics were 0-2 in free agency when it came to retaining/signing talent. That would change within a matter of days, however.
Further south, there was an interesting situation brewing. All-NBA Third Team guard Kemba Walker had been informed that the Charlotte Hornets would not be giving him a supermax contract; a contract that many believed he deserved.
Left to see who was wanting his services, Kemba was originally interested in going home, like Irving. However, he wanted to play for the other New York team. Along with the Knicks, Walker had preliminary discussions with the Dallas Mavericks, and some linked him to the Lakers, too. Danny Ainge rang, though, and Kemba was sold.
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His connection to the New England area (he played for the University of Connecticut) and his friendship with Jayson Tatum were two big factors in his quick decision. He signed a 4 year, $141 million deal to play in green alongside an already promising core group that consisted of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart.
The team wasted no time forming a tight bond. Over the summer, all the aforementioned players (except Hayward) were on the Team USA roster. There, they were able to get an advantage on the court and off the court, as they learned about each other’s tendencies and personalities. That type of experience together may be the reason that the team started off so hot (more on that, later).
To put it simply, Celtics fans felt the signing was already paying off, and the season hadn’t even started.