NBA fans everywhere caught wind of a very unexpected surprise yesterday morning, June 18th, upon learning the Boston Celtics have sent 10-year veteran and UCONN legend Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford’s second stint in a Celtics jersey alongside young big Moses Brown.
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Trade Details
OKC Thunder receive: Kemba Walker, 2021 1st round pick, 2025 2nd round pick
Boston Celtics receive: Al Horford, Moses Brown, 2023 2nd round pick
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Trade Analysis
Boston Celtics
With all the changes that the Boston Celtics made after their first round exit against the Brooklyn Nets in this year’s Playoffs, it came with no surprise that the front office changes were only the beginning for the organization. Al Horford was able to help the Celtics make deeper Playoff runs during his first stint with the team, and surely they’re hoping that may continue with him back within the rotation. Additionally, Moses Brown showed glimpses of a solid traditional big, something that felt like was lacking with Daniel Theis’ departure during the trade deadline. This time around it also seems like they’re truly keeping focus on their core of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who in which would be the primary ball handlers for the team. This would also likely bring Marcus Smart into the starting lineup, an all-around guard who can score within the flow of the team. Although some many find sending Kemba Walker away as a bit of a head scratcher, there is a lot of potential for both the Celtics and Thunder to be better this time around.
SR Trade Grade: B+
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder have found themselves in quite an interesting situation. They have some very strong emerging names with the likes of Isaiah Roby, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, and Aleksej Pokuševski. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the front of it all, what the Thunder have in front of themselves is a very young team with loads of potential, which with the amount of presence they have in the NBA Drafts to come, will seem to hold true for years to come. Now throwing Kemba Walker to the mix, you are left with a guard that can take some of the pressure of Shai as the sole primary ball handler, and allow him to play more freely to score and play within the offense rather than having to run it entirely by himself. Additionally, with the amount of picks they have in the future, they’ll be able to draft players that they can utilized beneficially for the young core they already have. There’s loads of potential in Oklahoma, and hopefully in time things will begin to pan out for this organization.
SR Trade Grade: B
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