Kemba Walker Thread

[Jakeopp]

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[zoyathedestroya]

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[mg]

Kyrie who??

Good job Ainge.

[soxfan2003]

Shams AND Woj agree, this is done.

Thanks for making the thread I was just about to.

I'll say this...

I have NO IDEA why Kemba is signing with us when all our all-star talent and some of our best role players (Morris, Baynes, and Rozier) of the past 2 years are leaving.

That said I'm so **** pumped to get an all-star for the low low price of zero assets.

Also I suspect Kemba isn't saying to himself "yeah add me, lose Irving, Horford, Baynes, Morris, Rozier = championship!" so either he wants to play in Stevens system... or we got some trades coming that Ainge promised Kemba he make to get another all-star in here for him to play with.

EITHER WAY. Great great day.

Our modern golden era since 2008 continues.

And the Celtics will once again ACTUALLY BE FUN next season. <3 <3 <3

I am opposed to this move but I know exactly why he may be signing with the Celtics.

$$$$$ and location. No other team as good as the Celtics were offering this sort of money and he gets to play in an area of the country, he probably likes. Many different rumors that Nets are ambivalent even paying Kyrie and for whatever Kyrie's flaws, he may help sell a few more tickets and he is younger. Both Kyrie and Kemba very questionable values at the max.....

Walker at this point probably roughly equals Kyrie Irving -- Irving was a little overrated by some fans and massively overrated by anyone that put him close to the top 10 in the NBA. Top 10 was laughable if folks know how Kyrie has done throughout his career with Lebron off the court. Neither of them top 25 players heading into next year IMHO. All NBA to mean means ********* in so many different cases. Besides too many of the voters not having a clue, there is just too much of a difference between value in regular season vs postseason. See Klay T. Irving in the perfect situation could be a top 20-25 post season player but I am very confident if you asked the top 25 basketball minds over the past 10 years --- let's say the best gamblers of the NBA over 10 year stretch --, neither of them are in their top 25 lists.

Those people are obviously look at defense and not just offense.

I am not overly impressed with all nba/all-stars since I have just seen to many players make those teams and just be not that great while other players have toiled in obscurity and really been excellent. See a player like Mike Conley.

I may have more of a belief in Smart, Hayward, Tatum and Brown then the average Celtics fan since I think just surrounding them with 3 value signings could easily equal 52 wins with any meaningful contributions from the rookies. I'd much rather be in that position than give a 4 year max contract to a fairly short PG about to hit 30 fairly soon.

For most of the folks that loved the Kyrie acquisition, this is a good day. I just was ambivalent of Kyrie acquisition and would have opposed if if I knew Ainge wouldn't go for it all in a year like this season.

Some will say the Celtics paid a good deal(Nets pick and Crowder who had good value and a hobbled IT who didn't have much value) to get Kyrie and got Walker for free...... When you look at the differences in contracts compared to a percentage of the cap and a 2 year vs 4 year comittment, the price was fairly equivalent....

Irving made around 40 million in 2 years with Celtics which was below market for "a star".

[jmr07019]

Shams AND Woj agree, this is done.

Thanks for making the thread I was just about to.

This. Gotta think we are getting a big man to go with Kemba. Excited to see who. Good riddance Kyrie welcome Kemba! As a UConn alum who attended while Kemba was in college I am extra excited. I **** LOVE KEMBA!

Yup either that. Or Kemba just feels like a second round exit and then retiring is enough for him. He was starved in CHA.

I'm sure part of the plan is to play Hayward &OR Tatum at PF a lot next season to make some room on the roster. There is a chance one of those two can become some near all-star pieces for Walker to play with and we'll be somewhere in the Indy - Philly range of teams. That could be good enough for Kemba.

A quick layout of what I expect our current roster to be atm.

Kemba/Smart spot minutes for the d-league midget PGs we drafted.
Smart/Brown spot minutes for Langford
Hayward/Brown
Tatum/Hayward/Semi
Theis/TimeLord


Probably can get a Theis level Center with the MLE or whatever we have to shore up that last C spot.

That team goes as far as Brown,Tatum, Hayward break out.

Ya I'm a little skeptical that Hayward or Tatum can be enough of a defensive and rebounding presence to be a full time PF but I do think that is the plan. Putting a Capela or Steven Adams next to them would make it a lot easier. I guess we'll see. Right now it's Robert Williams and Yabs for big men on the roster. Gotta think we don't go into the season with those 2 our only bigs. Like you said though adding an allstar for nothing but cap space is always a win.

[Jaqua92]

yeah I don't think I'm becoming here indicates another big move. I think it's a matter of simply being a better situation than Charlotte. That's it

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[amory87]

Losing it. So excited.

[Slartibartfast]

yeah I don't think I'm becoming here indicates another big move. I think it's a matter of simply being a better situation than Charlotte. That's it

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Yeah - I think he likes Tatum as an all-star this coming year and he hopes Hayward and Brown will be near that level as well.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

Shams AND Woj agree, this is done.

Thanks for making the thread I was just about to.

I'll say this...

I have NO IDEA why Kemba is signing with us when all our all-star talent and some of our best role players (Morris, Baynes, and Rozier) of the past 2 years are leaving.

That said I'm so **** pumped to get an all-star for the low low price of zero assets.

Also I suspect Kemba isn't saying to himself "yeah add me, lose Irving, Horford, Baynes, Morris, Rozier = championship!" so either he wants to play in Stevens system... or we got some trades coming that Ainge promised Kemba he make to get another all-star in here for him to play with.

EITHER WAY. Great great day.

Our modern golden era since 2008 continues.

And the Celtics will once again ACTUALLY BE FUN next season. <3 <3 <3

I think he wants to be here, but I also think there aren't that many teams looking to pay him the max. Lakers reportedly only will offer that to Kawhi and Kyrie. Clippers reportedly have other guys on their radar. Nets are targetting Kyrie. Knicks reportedly aren't targetting him. 76ers are targeting their own guys and if they fail, they don't really want a ball dominant PG when Simmons is their ball handler. Kings have Fox. Mavericks have Luka handling PG duties. Everyone else doesn't have max room. As soon as Charlotte decided not to pay him, we became his best option by default if he wanted to get paid.

[zoyathedestroya]

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Not worried about his efficiency. We'll see an uptick once he plays alongside better teammates and another ballhandler like Hayward. Stevens has gotten the best out of his guards from Crawford to ET to IT to Playoff Rozier to Kyrie, etc. He will do the same with Kemba. Just need him to stay healthy. I am also not worried about his willingness to adjust his game for the betterment of the team.

[Slax]

The last couple weeks have been a crazy rollercoaster. This puts us waaaay ahead of where we could have been at the end of this offseason. Could have been disastrous, but I'm actually really excited about where we're at and looking forward to seeing a more likable locker room, Hayward with a fully healthy season, and more youth development. And that's assuming no other major moves, even though it's very possible.

[TheMartian]

Welcome Kemba!

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

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[Parasite]

does this mean they are letting Kyrie go?

I actually laughed out loud. Thanks dude. Needed that.

[celticfan42487]

Shams AND Woj agree, this is done.

EITHER WAY. Great great day.

Our modern golden era since 2008 continues.

And the Celtics will once again ACTUALLY BE FUN next season. <3 <3 <3

I think he wants to be here, but I also think there aren't that many teams looking to pay him the max.

Oh I 100% agree. Kemba like Horford and Hayward when they signed are second rate stars. Paying them max is nothing like playing a really great player a max that can outperform their contract.

That said, Kemba very much would have been a fantastic plan B for any team. Including the fabeled Lakers, Clips, Nets, Knicks.

He was supposed to be our plan B for an Anthony Davis trade, but he's the plan B for all the teams looking to add a talent that swings and misses on Kawhi, KD, Irving.

I'm sure if Ainge knew he would actually be able to get Kemba to sign a month before today we'd have AD on our roster at this moment too.

But while he's not an MVP level player, and he's not a perannual starting all-star level player. He is an all-star level player. That, like you agree with as well, is a fantastic get.

That's a good start, and you can build in a lot of different directions (or in 2 years sell him off for a top 5 pick) with that as your basis. Getting Kemba is like getting the foundation to a mansion. Maybe you need more to build off of, but it's at least 70% of the foundation.

[Kalela]

I didn't want Kemba on the Celtics. I just don't believe in building around undersized PGs. With that said, as a Uconn fan, I am happy for Kemba and his family for making it this far. He was always doubted due to his size and now he is getting paid in the NBA.

[Green89]

[CSL_1904]

Too soon

[CeltsFlow]

.

OT, but what's the context behind your sig?

[Parasite]

I’m a little torn about this signing. Kemba is a very good player and I think he will give us good years, but there is definitely a risk here. He is a high volume guy. This could certainly slow Tatums growth. And let’s face it, we should be a little gun shy about such a player after IT and Kyrie. The upside is he isn’t **** crazy, so that’s good. Idk. Using a max slot on him just seems a little treadmill-y to me. We will see though. We need a good big to back up this move.