I'm ready to move on from Kemba

[#1P4P]

Despite agreeing with the idea, Ainge and the Celtics still have the negative narrative lurking. Trading Kemba is a reinforcement of the narrative that should be avoided unless the situation is untenable and all the cards are on the table (for contexts sake, Gordon is not in the same position after 3 years with the team).

In the case that he were to be traded, the Kemba for Simmons deal is excellent; for Chris Paul and a 1st; for Brogdon and filler; for Lowry. The difference between his age and the core’s age isn’t the priority because this team will do well with a vet on the floor during crunch time, especially an elite floor general (I think Smart is a solid option to continue to grow into that role). The priority is building a Championship team and Paul, Lowry, and to a lesser extent Simmons and Brogdon are those players at the 1 (Simmons can definitely play the 5 in crunch time (when he’s deployed at the 5 will be when he unlocks his best)).

Kemba will have another year, perhaps 2, to become the player that will propel this team to the next level.

[jambr380]

I would be over the moon excited to get Simmons. Would probably even make a Kemba/Hayward for Simmons/Horford deal to get it done. Moving forward with a trio of Tatum/Simmons/Brown would be insane for many years to come.

But I agree that trading Kemba would be a bad look. For better or worse, we are likely going to make a push with this core next season. Perhaps we move Hayward, but we will very likely bring in another Center via trade.

An underrated storyline that is seldom talked about (but mentioned in the OP - tp for that) is the possibility of Giannis next offseason. If Hayward picks up his option, his salary will be off the books. We would really only need to move Kemba at that point in a 'salary dump'. The optics would be better since he would be coming off of year 2 (not year 1) of his contract and we would be essentially trading him for Giannis. Of course every team will want to make a run at him next year, but we have as good of a chance as any with Tatum and Brown already in place.

[wiley]

Despite agreeing with the idea, Ainge and the Celtics still have the negative narrative lurking. Trading Kemba is a reinforcement of the narrative that should be avoided unless the situation is untenable and all the cards are on the table (for contexts sake, Gordon is not in the same position after 3 years with the team).

In the case that he were to be traded, the Kemba for Simmons deal is excellent; for Chris Paul and a 1st; for Brogdon and filler; for Lowry. The difference between his age and the core’s age isn’t the priority because this team will do well with a vet on the floor during crunch time, especially an elite floor general (I think Smart is a solid option to continue to grow into that role). The priority is building a Championship team and Paul, Lowry, and to a lesser extent Simmons and Brogdon are those players at the 1 (Simmons can definitely play the 5 in crunch time (when he’s deployed at the 5 will be when he unlocks his best)).

Kemba will have another year, perhaps 2, to become the player that will propel this team to the next level.

Agree with the points in this post.  He can't be traded unless it's to a situation that is clearly desirable. Especially if it's with Hayward, then that helps blunt the negative narrative more.  The C's didn't expect the J's to be this good this soon....they do have a right to re-tool around the J's.

But, no deal would happen with Philly.  Not a chance.  So forget that one, unless possibly for Horford (not Kemba, but then...no can't happen).

Kemba is a great dude.  He'll be back better next year.  He has to slow down a little, that's all.  He gets caught up rushing things and seeking fouls.  Once he learns to slow down, especially in the playoffs, he'll be deadly. 

If they find something desirable for all parties, then something could happen.  Otherwise, get ready to run it back...We can do some good things in this draft for sure. 

[tarheelsxxiii]

Talk about selling both prematurely and low.  Not happenin'.

Kemba's locker room presence seems underappreciated here.  He willingly took a back seat to Tatum and Brown in these playoffs - which seemed like the right decision - and they've hardly had any time to develop chemistry yet.

[Birdman]

Kemba not going anywhere..remember the backlash Danny got when he traded Thomas

[GreenFaith1819]

Look I know we're ALL still smarting from our loss to MIA.

But I really think we ought to step back and reconsider some things.

Our team GREW with Kemba - he FIT in.

Tatum blossomed...Jaylen continues to grow and will be an All-Star next season. We could very well have AT LEAST three All-Stars next season in Kemba, Jaylen and of course Jayson.

Is Ben Simmons going to stay healthy? He seems to be having issues in that department as well.

If he does stay healthy is he going to guard Greek Freak or Bam in a series?

Is he going to FINALLY start to shoot the ball?

At this point I'd rather just continue to develop Rob Williams and Grant Williams, or even bring back Clifford Ray to perhaps develop Enos Kanter defensively.

Enos is a good kid, solid rebounder, gifted around the basket but is a liability defensively. I don't think that means he CAN'T get better in that area.

Finally - I'm personally SCARED to do "ANY" deals with PHI. They are a STRANGE and BIZARRE organization



Didn't Mod Don post an informative article about them last week or so? How they are NOT far from being a NY Knicks clone?

Danny heists Tatum from them....Markell Fultz festers there for several years but FINALLY seems to find himself in ORL. ORL subsequently finds SUCCESS in the playoffs this year - winning MORE games than PHI, lol.

And Markell plays decently for them.

Al Horford goes there and loses himself, lol......doesn't quite seem the same player he was in BOS but I don't think this is ALL ON HIM.

It is like he traversed through The Bermuda Triangle on his way to PHI.



No I'd rather keep Kemba and develop what we have.

[footey]

Please allow me to go full on crazy.

How about this? And I know the salaries don't match, but let's pretend that this is the core trade, and the add ons will be filled later.

To Indiana:
Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker

To Boston:
Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis

Who says no?

Me.

[footey]

TP to OP for the creative proposals.  If Kemba were not into year one of his FA contract, I'd consider the trade for the Knick's 8 pick, which would give us incredible ability to trade up even further if necessary.  But others have rightfully pointed out that this would be suicide. Has a max player FA ever been traded after a single year?  obviously the more years served, the less guilty we would feel as a franchise to trade such a player; notice all the trade proposals surrounding Hayward of late.

The Simmons trade would not work for Philly; they would insist on one of Brown or Tatum to consider, and we are not going there!

[seancally]

Ok ok ok. Just so I understand the premise:

Kyrie, Morris, Al leave in the off-season. Celtics are considered toast. Some even fairly predict an 8-seed or worse. Ainge trades Baynes and signs Kemba out of nowhere, ashes still hot from the anger and bad blood after Kyrie and a terrible playoff exit. Al left for greener pastures - remember what the lay of the land looked like in the East at the time?

Then Kemba helps turn around the locker room. He’s an all-star starter. Celtics overachieve all year and get to Game 6 of the ECF after dispatching PHI and TOR without Hayward.

Tough loss to Miami and a sting from losing out on a possible Finals berth.

Now... people want to trade Kemba. Do I have that right?

[Tr1boy]

 Not possible at this point

Also no FA would want to sign here moving fwd

Celts need to add a better center and more bench depth

If the team still underachieves. Than yes consider trading Kemba

[nyceltsfan]

Ok ok ok. Just so I understand the premise:

Kyrie, Morris, Al leave in the off-season. Celtics are considered toast. Some even fairly predict an 8-seed or worse. Ainge trades Baynes and signs Kemba out of nowhere, ashes still hot from the anger and bad blood after Kyrie and a terrible playoff exit. Al left for greener pastures - remember what the lay of the land looked like in the East at the time?

Then Kemba helps turn around the locker room. He’s an all-star starter. Celtics overachieve all year and get to Game 6 of the ECF after dispatching PHI and TOR without Hayward.

Tough loss to Miami and a sting from losing out on a possible Finals berth.

Now... people want to trade Kemba. Do I have that right?

You absolutely have that right.  I am a huge Kemba fan, but I have to question whether or not he is the right fit for this team for max money.  He failed this postseason on 2 fronts:

1. He was supposed to be the stabilizing leader and go to guy when the chips were down and the offense got stagnant.
2. He is not the right person to have in a defensive system that relies on switching, as is evidenced by the crazy foul trouble that he had in the last few games of the Miami series, as well as the Lowry and Van Vleet performances in the previous series.

I am happy to try to run it back with some legitimate tweaks to the bench and center positions.  However, the Celtics did have the talent advantage in the conference finals and came up short (perhaps for the first time with said advantage) and I think we, as fans, have a right to question whether or not this mix of players, and the coach, makes sense for the core of this roster moving forward.

[Green-18]

Ok ok ok. Just so I understand the premise:

Kyrie, Morris, Al leave in the off-season. Celtics are considered toast. Some even fairly predict an 8-seed or worse. Ainge trades Baynes and signs Kemba out of nowhere, ashes still hot from the anger and bad blood after Kyrie and a terrible playoff exit. Al left for greener pastures - remember what the lay of the land looked like in the East at the time?

Then Kemba helps turn around the locker room. He’s an all-star starter. Celtics overachieve all year and get to Game 6 of the ECF after dispatching PHI and TOR without Hayward.

Tough loss to Miami and a sting from losing out on a possible Finals berth.

Now... people want to trade Kemba. Do I have that right?

Pretty much.  Kemba's not going anywhere.

What stood out to me was Kemba's inconsistency on catch & shoot 3's.  I just looked and his regular season percentage was 41% in catch & shoot situations from beyond the arc.  This dropped to 34% in the playoffs.  Both Tatum and Brown were very close to their regular season percentages.  Maybe his struggles were a combination of the knee and fatigue.

[Jvalin]

Ok ok ok. Just so I understand the premise:

Kyrie, Morris, Al leave in the off-season. Celtics are considered toast. Some even fairly predict an 8-seed or worse. Ainge trades Baynes and signs Kemba out of nowhere, ashes still hot from the anger and bad blood after Kyrie and a terrible playoff exit. Al left for greener pastures - remember what the lay of the land looked like in the East at the time?

Then Kemba helps turn around the locker room. He’s an all-star starter. Celtics overachieve all year and get to Game 6 of the ECF after dispatching PHI and TOR without Hayward.

Tough loss to Miami and a sting from losing out on a possible Finals berth.

Now... people want to trade Kemba. Do I have that right?

The C's made the ECF in 2018 with Rozier running the point, Tatum being 20 years old and Brown being 21. Kemba is a very talented player, but I don't think he's the reason we reached the ECF this season. Heck, I'm not even sure he was our best Point Guard during the playoffs. If you ask me, Smart outplayed Kemba. He even shot better than Kemba from 3-point range (33.3% compared to 31%).

I don't expect us to trade Kemba. My point is that I wouldn't be against the idea of trading him. Imo, Kemba is a luxury, not a necessity.

[mrceltics2013]

Ok ok ok. Just so I understand the premise:

Kyrie, Morris, Al leave in the off-season. Celtics are considered toast. Some even fairly predict an 8-seed or worse. Ainge trades Baynes and signs Kemba out of nowhere, ashes still hot from the anger and bad blood after Kyrie and a terrible playoff exit. Al left for greener pastures - remember what the lay of the land looked like in the East at the time?

Then Kemba helps turn around the locker room. He’s an all-star starter. Celtics overachieve all year and get to Game 6 of the ECF after dispatching PHI and TOR without Hayward.

Tough loss to Miami and a sting from losing out on a possible Finals berth.

Now... people want to trade Kemba. Do I have that right?

Well for all me know just the subtractions could have been good enough for the team chemistry to be what it is.

With Rozier we did make it further in the playoffs than Kemba did.

It is a very tough loss, but Kemba didn’t look like he belonged out there. He looked out marched through out the entire playoffs and it was odd to watch because I valued him so high. I literally said going into the playoffs Kemba was our best player and will be the finals MVP. Philly Series was easy and to be honest.....he still could have done better. As open as he was he should have had 50 point games, but he just “couldn’t”.

Kemba is a really good player do not get me wrong, but I think he served his purpose here. I applaud him for his work and  I’ll gladly send him home to NY where he can retire and play for his home crowd. I’d even send him to Nets and we take back some of their fine pieces. 

[blink]

I doubt DA would trade Kemba after his 1st year here. 

But I don't think it is crazy to suggest that like IT, Kemba creates a disadvantage on def that makes it difficult to run our all switching all the time def in the playoffs.  Especially once you get further in the playoffs, teams are going to be headhunting Kemba on def just because of his size.  He isn't a bad def player, but he is small enough that it can cause major issues if we dont change up our def a bit.  But his offense in the playoffs wasn't so outstanding that it made up for the def struggles.

During the regular season his contributions are obviously greater.  Kemba is a mismatch for a lot of guys guarding him.  In the playoffs that changes a lot. 

I think Kemba's offensive contribution could be replaced by more minutes from Smart and whatever other player we would get back in a trade.  I just don't think DA will do that after Kemba's 1st year here after signing as a free agent.