Kemba Walker Appreciation Thread – (Retires, July 2, 2024)

[Celtic Esquire]

I got nothing, but love for Kemba.

Great teammate and great person. Wished he was healthier during his time here.

Hope he crushes it in OKC!

[Curmudgeon]

Nice guy who can't defend a chair-- even when his knee was better. I wish him well.

[Bad-Thoma]

It's a shame the injuries derailed him, I hope he recovers and is at least in the conversation for another all-star appearance. Best of luck, Kemba.

[Spin Move]

Kemba was a good player who got hurt, his size limited his defensivly ability, I don't like this trade, I get why is was done financially but I fully expect Kemba to put up 22 and 6 next year in OKC and for them to trade him for more 1sts. Good Luck Kemba, Brad did you dirty.

[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

I hope Kemba finds his way to a good team or that OKC make some moves now to become good. I love Kemba the man and wish him all the health and success in the future. Sad it didn't work out here but it wasn't for lack of him trying. He played a lot of good basketball for us but not a good fit for many reasons already discussed.

[K For Three]

Sad it ended the way it did for him in Boston, especially since I think his hopes here were sky high. He genuinely wanted this to be "the place" for him and the legacy of the Celtics seemed to really hit home with him. His first year here though (until the knee issues) was amazing. And yes it was huge to have a guy like him want to play here IMO and still is.

I hope he can return to form in OKC or elsewhere, I still think he has some good basketball left in him.

At the very least we are losing one guy I liked and getting back an old friend in Al. So this might be meant to be.

[KGtabake]

One of the coolest characters ever. Really great guy, he deserves the best and i hope everything will go well for him from now on.
You won't find any fans of whatever team say something negative for his character.
You won't find any players say bad things.
Really great dude. Be well, all the best.

[darrendaye]

Good guy, bad fit. Wish him the best as he continues his path.

[cloverleaf]

I'd have had more appreciation for Kemba if he had volunteered to come off the bench upon his return and given his marginal play, if he had looked like the games mattered more to him this year, and if he hadn't put word out to the media about his hurt feelings.

[Shak_Celts]

Can't say a bad word about Kemba, that's a good dude. Didn't work out, it happens!


GOOD LUCK KEMBA!! I pray he gets and stays healthy for regular life foremost and I hope he still has good years of bball left in him!

[grantlongforpresident]

I’ve always been a big Kemba fan. Good luck in okc!

[cl2117]

Another guy I can't say a bad thing about.

Think Kemba was somewhat doomed from the moment he signed his contract. It was an overpay, but seemed to make sense at the time as a response to Kyrie jumping ship. Kemba even if healthy was never going to live up to that because of his style offensively and limitations defensively. C's ended up needing more of a floor general than a scorer once Hayward/Horford were gone as play makers outside of the PG position and Kemba isn't that. Defensively he's a trooper, but you can't teach height and he's just too short to not be picked on.

Despite all that he was always super positive, the kind of attitude you expect from a professional athlete who knows he's playing a game for a living. You could tell he really tried to gut it out when the knee was bothering him and gave it his all when he was out there. When he was healthy he genuinely did rival Kyrie in terms of impact. When he was hot you couldn't stop him from draining pull up 3's off screens or finishing at the rim acrobatically on drives. Defensively he committed himself to taking charges to make up for his inability to stop bigger players. I enjoyed watching him play which is a high compliment.

It kills me that he's 100% going to be flipped by Presti for a first rounder next year, but I'll be pulling for Kemba all along the way. He was getting back to his old from 20/5/4 on decent TS% and his new found love of taking charges. If he can stay healthy, which should be easier in a normal season, he'll be snapped up by a playoff team before long.

[Red2]

Great guy and wish him the best. It didn’t work out. I thought it was poor fit from the beginning

[itrsteve]

Echoing everybody else, unfortunate that it didn’t work. I really liked the guy, but those max contracts put a target on your back.

One thing that I really loved about the guy, through his injuries and poor shooting nights he would never hesitate to take a charge and did it frequently. I always thought that was a quiet display of great character and commitment to winning even when everything else wasn’t going his way.

[celtxman]

I said it then. I understood why they got Kemba in response to Irving and Horford leaving. They didn't want the perception of Boston being a bad place to be. It was good for the Celtics at first, but once his health went, his contract was argueably the worst in the NBA. Ainge botched getting something for Irving at the trade deadline when Irving made it abundantly clear he didn't owe anybody anything.
OKC has the luxury of resting Kemba all they want, having him get some nice stats, by playing him a bit before the trade deadline and getting another asset then. Perfect business move. The Celtics could not waste another year of gambling on Kemba after his health failed twice in the playoffs.

[RickyDizzle]

It's a shame this thread is as short as it is. A good guy that chose to be here and did his best.

Too bad we traded him at the lowest point of his value, there's a chance he never is healthy enough to be a reliable contributer. But as the guaranteed dollars tick off of his deal over time, he wouldn't have to do much to improve his value.

I hope he has a good next phase and can finish out his career on his own terms.

[cloverleaf]

It's a shame this thread is as short as it is. A good guy that chose to be here and did his best.

Too bad we traded him at the lowest point of his value, there's a chance he never is healthy enough to be a reliable contributer. But as the guaranteed dollars tick off of his deal over time, he wouldn't have to do much to improve his value.

I hope he has a good next phase and can finish out his career on his own terms.

If he were comfortable coming off the bench given his limited game availability (and defensive vulnerability), he wouldn't have been looking to leave as much as the C's were looking to ship him out. Since he wasn't, it is IMO very good that he has been moved along. Who know where he lands up by October? If he does make it to the Knicks, his charmed life will have continued nearly unabated.

[RickyDizzle]

It's a shame this thread is as short as it is. A good guy that chose to be here and did his best.

Too bad we traded him at the lowest point of his value, there's a chance he never is healthy enough to be a reliable contributer. But as the guaranteed dollars tick off of his deal over time, he wouldn't have to do much to improve his value.

I hope he has a good next phase and can finish out his career on his own terms.

If he were comfortable coming off the bench given his limited game availability (and defensive vulnerability), he wouldn't have been looking to leave as much as the C's were looking to ship him out. Since he wasn't, it is IMO very good that he has been moved along. Who know where he lands up by October? If he does make it to the Knicks, his charmed life will have continued nearly unabated.

Yeah... I think it was at the point where the divorce had to happen. I'm good with the trade if we look at it as swapping Horf for Kemba and then our draft is Moses, Yam, and 45 that's solid... BUT I think it's very likely OKC ends up getting something for Kemba later and we had to pay to get off of his deal. They can handle him with kid gloves after recovering for a full off-season and by the time the deadline comes there are teams that likely would take him on for a year and a half.

Not upset with the deal, it's just a shame to have to move him when his stock was at rock bottom. Philly may need to do the same with Simmons, honestly.

[CavePerson]

Now if you will excuse my I'm off to share needles with Chris Herren

[ConstableGeneva]

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