Kemba’s got to go...

[greg683x]

5 months later and this post still holds true. Danny needs to do whatever he can to move Kemba in the off-season. Can’t waste any more seasons with Walker as the 3rd max guy on this team. I thought it was a good signing at the time, but it just isn’t working out and it won’t. Time to cut your losses, Danny. Hopefully Tatum is in Beals ear during the off-season and convinces him to ask out of Washington. I don’t care how many 1st round picks it takes to move  Kemba. It Needs to be done.

You’re not getting Beal for Kemba. You might get Westbrook though.

You do realize that Beal will be an Unrestricted free agent this time next year? If he asks to be moved or informs the team that he is not signing another extension, they will have to trade him just like Houston did with Harden. I can’t imagine they would let him walk for nothing. Players have all the leverage now and if/when he does get moved, it could be a potential 1 year rental for the other team. Teams interested in Beal are not going to give up the farm for someone that is not under contract for at least a few years.

They’re still not going to trade him for Kemba.  Why would they trade Beal for Kemba who plays the same position as Westbrook, both of whom would be in terrible contracts. 

The wizards would rather let Beal walk for nothing and have the cap space than do that.

Westbrook Has a player option at the end of next season. He may be gone as well. I would be surprised if Washington would prefer letting Beal walk for nothing vs getting Kemba and a couple of first round picks and/or a young player like Pritchard/Nesmith.

In this scenario Russell Westbrook would be leaving 47 million dollars on the table

[Goldstar88]

All this because Kemba had a bad shooting day? If Kemba went 7-16 instead of 5-16 everyone would be posting in the "It's time to back off Jayson Tatum" calling for Tatum's head because he went 6-20 from the field(which by the way, is a worse FG% than Kemba had) and 1-4 from three( which is worse that Kemba's 3-7 ).

Fact is, besides Smart, Parker and Timelord, everyone else on the team was bad offensively. This loss wasn't only Kemba. He shot poorly, but so did Tatum, Fournier, Nesmith and Pritchard.

To me, from the first post after the game to here, this thread is nothing more than hyperbolic over reaction.

The idea that this is a reaction to one game is hard to take. Besides just shooting poorly, he had 2 assists and 3 turnovers, and he tends to have bad turnovers. He wasn't out there playing intelligently and just missing. He was just bad, and that was a game a competitive team needed to win. They probably won't shoot that poorly again.

Correct. If I update the original post from Jan, the sentiment still holds true.

The performance against the Lakers Nets tonight aside, I really think the Celtics needs to move on from him. Kemba is  a one dimensional player. if he’s not scoring, he’s hurting the team by being on the court. He’s the point guard, but he doesn’t run the offense or get his teammates involved. Pritchard already seems to be a better fit and has good chemistry with Tatum and Jaylen. I really wanted Kemba to work out on this team, but it’s just not.

[Diggles]

Kemba is  a one dimensional player. if he’s not scoring, he’s hurting the team by being on the court. He’s the point guard, but he doesn’t run the offense or get his teammates involved.

Sounds like the same reason we can't trade him. No one wants a one dimensional PG.  So whats the solution?    Coach him up since we can't trade his ass.   

[Quetzalcoatl]

Is there a trade packaging him with Brown that would make us better?  Like Donovan Mitchell or something?

[Neurotic Guy]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart. 

[Walker Wiggle]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart.

I see this type of thing thrown around a lot and must (again) emphatically argue that we are dramatically undervaluing Kemba's value around the league. He is not a player that the Celtics will need to stuff assets alongside to "dump", and if that were the case, the team would never go that route.

Kemba has just two years left on his deal (maybe 1 if he forgoes his player option) and is coming off a year where his stats were more or less in line with his career averages, especially if you throw out those first few games when he was coming back. For pete's sake, he started the all-star game last season. This season the Celtics took caution with his knee and he responded well, all things considered.

There will be a team that whiffs in free agency this summer and is looking for something to do with its cap space, and will be willing to absorb Kemba. For instance, I could see the Celtics trading Kemba to a team with ~$20m worth of cap space, bringing back a role player making $15m or so to make it work, and still picking up a first round pick in return. There will be at least one team out there who will want Kemba in a deal like that.

[Neurotic Guy]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart.

I see this type of thing thrown around a lot and must (again) emphatically argue that we are dramatically undervaluing Kemba's value around the league. He is not a player that the Celtics will need to stuff assets alongside to "dump", and if that were the case, the team would never go that route.

Kemba has just two years left on his deal (maybe 1 if he forgoes his player option) and is coming off a year where his stats were more or less in line with his career averages, especially if you throw out those first few games when he was coming back. For pete's sake, he started the all-star game last season. This season the Celtics took caution with his knee and he responded well, all things considered.

There will be a team that whiffs in free agency this summer and is looking for something to do with its cap space, and will be willing to absorb Kemba. For instance, I could see the Celtics trading Kemba to a team with ~$20m worth of cap space, bringing back a role player making $15m or so to make it work, and still picking up a first round pick in return. There will be at least one team out there who will want Kemba in a deal like that.

Sounds good to me and hope you're correct.  Kemba just doesn't seem to be doing the things he used to -- despite the stats.   In past years he had deadly stretches from long range and was a much more reliable finisher at the rim.   His passing skills aren't great, and though I love his effort on D and his willingness/ability to take charges he's still giving up size almost every night.   I don't see a team that can absorb cap space taking on his salary and giving up decent assets in return, but again -- I hope you are correct.

[Walker Wiggle]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart.

I see this type of thing thrown around a lot and must (again) emphatically argue that we are dramatically undervaluing Kemba's value around the league. He is not a player that the Celtics will need to stuff assets alongside to "dump", and if that were the case, the team would never go that route.

Kemba has just two years left on his deal (maybe 1 if he forgoes his player option) and is coming off a year where his stats were more or less in line with his career averages, especially if you throw out those first few games when he was coming back. For pete's sake, he started the all-star game last season. This season the Celtics took caution with his knee and he responded well, all things considered.

There will be a team that whiffs in free agency this summer and is looking for something to do with its cap space, and will be willing to absorb Kemba. For instance, I could see the Celtics trading Kemba to a team with ~$20m worth of cap space, bringing back a role player making $15m or so to make it work, and still picking up a first round pick in return. There will be at least one team out there who will want Kemba in a deal like that.

Sounds good to me and hope you're correct.  Kemba just doesn't seem to be doing the things he used to -- despite the stats.   In past years he had deadly stretches from long range and was a much more reliable finisher at the rim.   His passing skills aren't great, and though I love his effort on D and his willingness/ability to take charges he's still giving up size almost every night.   I don't see a team that can absorb cap space taking on his salary and giving up decent assets in return, but again -- I hope you are correct.

Yeah I would leave it up to other folks who know the rest of the league better than I do, but the ideal partner would be a team that:

1) has at least $36m in cap space, or can get there by offloading an additional contract or two;

2) has interest in upgrading its PG position OR has a big PG who can defend and wouldn't mind pairing Kemba with

BONUS would be a team whose fan base, GM, or ownership is impatient, under pressure, and looking to make a big-name splash if they strike out in the free agency market.

[jambr380]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart.

I see this type of thing thrown around a lot and must (again) emphatically argue that we are dramatically undervaluing Kemba's value around the league. He is not a player that the Celtics will need to stuff assets alongside to "dump", and if that were the case, the team would never go that route.

Kemba has just two years left on his deal (maybe 1 if he forgoes his player option) and is coming off a year where his stats were more or less in line with his career averages, especially if you throw out those first few games when he was coming back. For pete's sake, he started the all-star game last season. This season the Celtics took caution with his knee and he responded well, all things considered.

There will be a team that whiffs in free agency this summer and is looking for something to do with its cap space, and will be willing to absorb Kemba. For instance, I could see the Celtics trading Kemba to a team with ~$20m worth of cap space, bringing back a role player making $15m or so to make it work, and still picking up a first round pick in return. There will be at least one team out there who will want Kemba in a deal like that.

Sounds good to me and hope you're correct.  Kemba just doesn't seem to be doing the things he used to -- despite the stats.   In past years he had deadly stretches from long range and was a much more reliable finisher at the rim.   His passing skills aren't great, and though I love his effort on D and his willingness/ability to take charges he's still giving up size almost every night.   I don't see a team that can absorb cap space taking on his salary and giving up decent assets in return, but again -- I hope you are correct.

We probably saw the very best Kemba is ever going to be pre-All-Star game last year, but that doesn't mean he isn't a very good player. His stats are almost eerily on par with his career stats, despite his horrendous start to the year. Even though he may not be scoring in exactly the same ways he has in the past, he is still scoring at a similar efficiency (which has never been wonderful). We also saw a nice stretch of games where he was a fantastic playmaker - getting into the lane with ease and creating wide open looks for his teammates. With Brown out, we now need Kemba to be back in scoring mode.

I definitely agree with WW, though, and think his last paragraph is spot on. If we are willing to take on even some salary (say $15-20M), I can easily see us acquiring a 1st, rather than giving up a 1st in a Kemba trade. Kemba is still a very good overall player and even elite at some very important things. I'd imagine teams seeing him healthy this season would feel a lot more optimistic about a Kemba trade now than they did before the season started.

[Vermont Green]

Yeah I would leave it up to other folks who know the rest of the league better than I do, but the ideal partner would be a team that:

1) has at least $36m in cap space, or can get there by offloading an additional contract or two;

2) has interest in upgrading its PG position OR has a big PG who can defend and wouldn't mind pairing Kemba with

BONUS would be a team whose fan base, GM, or ownership is impatient, under pressure, and looking to make a big-name splash if they strike out in the free agency market.

There will be only 1 team, NYK, that would meet criteria 1 above.  And the only way a team is going to shed enough salary to take on Walker is to (a) send the salary back to us in the trade, or (b) do a 3-way with the Knicks.

At one point, I thought the Knicks would have interest but now with Rose playing so well, I am not so sure.

[Moranis]

Yeah I would leave it up to other folks who know the rest of the league better than I do, but the ideal partner would be a team that:

1) has at least $36m in cap space, or can get there by offloading an additional contract or two;

2) has interest in upgrading its PG position OR has a big PG who can defend and wouldn't mind pairing Kemba with

BONUS would be a team whose fan base, GM, or ownership is impatient, under pressure, and looking to make a big-name splash if they strike out in the free agency market.

There will be only 1 team, NYK, that would meet criteria 1 above.  And the only way a team is going to shed enough salary to take on Walker is to (a) send the salary back to us in the trade, or (b) do a 3-way with the Knicks.

At one point, I thought the Knicks would have interest but now with Rose playing so well, I am not so sure.

I have maintained all year that the Clippers make a lot of sense, especially if they flame out of the playoffs again. Something like Beverley, Zubac, and Morris for Walker and Edwards makes a heck of a lot of sense for both teams.  Boston gets the prototypical 3 and D PG, a solid veteran wing, and a youngish solid center to pair with RW in a big man rotation.  Not a world beater package, but I think a better fitting team and one with a lot more depth.  The Clippers get a legit 3rd scorer and excellent 3rd option to pair with their All NBA level wings. 

[Walker Wiggle]

Yeah I would leave it up to other folks who know the rest of the league better than I do, but the ideal partner would be a team that:

1) has at least $36m in cap space, or can get there by offloading an additional contract or two;

2) has interest in upgrading its PG position OR has a big PG who can defend and wouldn't mind pairing Kemba with

BONUS would be a team whose fan base, GM, or ownership is impatient, under pressure, and looking to make a big-name splash if they strike out in the free agency market.

There will be only 1 team, NYK, that would meet criteria 1 above.  And the only way a team is going to shed enough salary to take on Walker is to (a) send the salary back to us in the trade, or (b) do a 3-way with the Knicks.

At one point, I thought the Knicks would have interest but now with Rose playing so well, I am not so sure.

You don't need the team to have $36m in cap space. You'd just need, to take an example, a team with $20m in cap space plus a guy under contract making $16m that the Celtics wouldn't mind taking on, to have a match.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Knicks have cap space, will probably whiff in free agency (unless Kawhi randomly decides to go there), will probably want another "name" player and have a historically stupid front office.  That might be our best option

[Vermont Green]

Yeah I would leave it up to other folks who know the rest of the league better than I do, but the ideal partner would be a team that:

1) has at least $36m in cap space, or can get there by offloading an additional contract or two;

2) has interest in upgrading its PG position OR has a big PG who can defend and wouldn't mind pairing Kemba with

BONUS would be a team whose fan base, GM, or ownership is impatient, under pressure, and looking to make a big-name splash if they strike out in the free agency market.

There will be only 1 team, NYK, that would meet criteria 1 above.  And the only way a team is going to shed enough salary to take on Walker is to (a) send the salary back to us in the trade, or (b) do a 3-way with the Knicks.

At one point, I thought the Knicks would have interest but now with Rose playing so well, I am not so sure.

You don't need the team to have $36m in cap space. You'd just need, to take an example, a team with $20m in cap space plus a guy under contract making $16m that the Celtics wouldn't mind taking on, to have a match.

Spotrac projects teams' "practical cap space" for 2021/21 based on the current cap limits (not sure if the limits will change).  The NYK project to have about $44M and OKC projects to have $22M.  Every other team projects to be over the cap.  The only team that could take his full salary is NYK.  OKC would need to send around $15M to NYK or back to us to absorb Kemba (and I don't see why they would do this).  There are just not that many options to not take salary back.

I think a potential scenario is a trade with someone like LAC where we take back salary but some of it is shorter (just 2021/22 and then expiring) than Kemba's current 2 years left after this season.  It is very unlikely, unless we can deal with the Knicks, that we are able to fully clear or even mostly clear salary for the 2021-22 season with a trade of Kemba.

[colincb]

Isn’t the only realistic way (other than wait it out) to get Kemba off the books to package him with our #1 and maybe a youngster to a team that can absorb the cap hit? Idk who that could be.  Then sign Fournier and either let the team develop or make a fireworks trade with Brown and/or Smart.

I see this type of thing thrown around a lot and must (again) emphatically argue that we are dramatically undervaluing Kemba's value around the league. He is not a player that the Celtics will need to stuff assets alongside to "dump", and if that were the case, the team would never go that route.

Kemba has just two years left on his deal (maybe 1 if he forgoes his player option) and is coming off a year where his stats were more or less in line with his career averages, especially if you throw out those first few games when he was coming back. For pete's sake, he started the all-star game last season. This season the Celtics took caution with his knee and he responded well, all things considered.

There will be a team that whiffs in free agency this summer and is looking for something to do with its cap space, and will be willing to absorb Kemba. For instance, I could see the Celtics trading Kemba to a team with ~$20m worth of cap space, bringing back a role player making $15m or so to make it work, and still picking up a first round pick in return. There will be at least one team out there who will want Kemba in a deal like that.

Sounds good to me and hope you're correct.  Kemba just doesn't seem to be doing the things he used to -- despite the stats.   In past years he had deadly stretches from long range and was a much more reliable finisher at the rim.   His passing skills aren't great, and though I love his effort on D and his willingness/ability to take charges he's still giving up size almost every night.   I don't see a team that can absorb cap space taking on his salary and giving up decent assets in return, but again -- I hope you are correct.

We probably saw the very best Kemba is ever going to be pre-All-Star game last year, but that doesn't mean he isn't a very good player. His stats are almost eerily on par with his career stats, despite his horrendous start to the year. Even though he may not be scoring in exactly the same ways he has in the past, he is still scoring at a similar efficiency (which has never been wonderful). We also saw a nice stretch of games where he was a fantastic playmaker - getting into the lane with ease and creating wide open looks for his teammates. With Brown out, we now need Kemba to be back in scoring mode.

I definitely agree with WW, though, and think his last paragraph is spot on. If we are willing to take on even some salary (say $15-20M), I can easily see us acquiring a 1st, rather than giving up a 1st in a Kemba trade. Kemba is still a very good overall player and even elite at some very important things. I'd imagine teams seeing him healthy this season would feel a lot more optimistic about a Kemba trade now than they did before the season started.

The only 2 teams that fit the bill for 2021-22 are NY and OKC. Neither have disposable mid-level players (OKC has no player other than Al Horford who makes more than $5.4MM. NYK has no one other than Randall making more than $8.6 MM). So with either, the other team would have to come up with multiple players. Would think the Knicks would like to re-sign Rose at a much cheaper salary anyway, and anything we get from OKC won't help much from what I've seen of them.