Woj Bomb: Kemba, 1st Rounder, & '25 2nd Rounder to OKC for Horford, Brown, 2nd

[Celtics2021]

This Brown kid has some great per-36 stats. 14.5 pts / 15 reb / 1.2 stl / 1.8 blk. His ft% improved to 63% too, which is nice because he gets 5 fta per 36.

His assists per 36 are just .4 though, which is unbelievably bad. That is a red flag imo. Hopefully the coaching staff can help there.

There will be a major adjustment playing on a team with expectations to win

For what it's worth one of the Boston writers tweeted that he's hearing that Brown was included mainly to make the salaries match but would be given a look.

I don't claim to know anything, but that seems like a really bad take. Not only does he have one of the lowest salaries in the league, but Moses definitely seems NBA caliber. Also, OKC has plenty of cap space...like so much.

Yeah, it’s done with this year’s cap rather than next year’s because that saves them Kemba’s trade kicker, but OKC had $14 million of space for this year, on top of roughly $50 million next year, so there’s no way Moses Brown mattered for cap purposes.

[Vermont Green]

This Brown kid has some great per-36 stats. 14.5 pts / 15 reb / 1.2 stl / 1.8 blk. His ft% improved to 63% too, which is nice because he gets 5 fta per 36.

His assists per 36 are just .4 though, which is unbelievably bad. That is a red flag imo. Hopefully the coaching staff can help there.

There will be a major adjustment playing on a team with expectations to win

For what it's worth one of the Boston writers tweeted that he's hearing that Brown was included mainly to make the salaries match but would be given a look.

Is this trade done based on 2020-21 salary or 2021-22?  Either way, wouldn't OKC have cap space to do the trade and absorb increase due to Kemba's salary?

Yup. Apparently some Boston writers aren't up to snuff on their cap knowledge and we're just writing stuff to get hits.

Shocking!!!

I know!!!

Or maybe it is the Celtics being coy with OKC.  You know, if you want to send back a little more salary, that is fine with us.  We will take back Moses Brown to help with the salaries and we can give him a look.

Seriously though, to me it seems like OKC really wanted another pick, not sure why, they have so many, and to get the pick, they needed to include Brown.  And I am not sure why they want Kemba.  I know they plan to "flip" him but there are just not that many places they can send him where they wouldn't need to take salary back.  Do they think the Knicks will give them something at the deadline?  By then, the Knicks will likely have spent their cap space.

This whole trade makes no sense to me.  The Celtics aren't really better as the trade now stands.  Brown is nice prospect and they save some money that they hopefully put to good use but is Horford really much better than Theis (or any better)?  Is this really going to move the needle?  Another mediocre big to add to our other 5 mediocre bigs?

[SHAQATTACK]

The Celtics obviously knew what Kemba’s value was around the league, as the team had discussions about trying to trade him during the season. This is why Kemba demanded a trade recently, after learning about this, which only lowered his trade value. Kemba may have been a nice guy, but he was a sieve on defense, didn’t create open looks for teammates, and his scoring was inconsistent. Horford may not be the players he was before, but he should be more reliable on defense, help with passing, and provide easier scoring chances in the paint. As for Moses Brown, I see his inclusion as being the 16th pick in this upcoming draft, but with NBA experience and closer to contributing.

I would like to thank Brad Stevens for getting this trade done today. I’m not sure how many trade ideas involving Kemba, I could have tolerated this off season, especially when the ideas were for players like Lillard, Beal, Simmons, Towns, etc. simply because the salaries were close.

It was demoralizing to see Kemba on the bench , not playing in playoffs ,  for fan base and his teammates at 140 million .. :……..

Thanks to CBS for taking care of this ASAP , so the new coach can start will somebody at point he can count on to get up off the bench and actually play ball

[PAOBoston]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

[Celtics4ever]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

Could be as simple as we could be going to move Thompson.

[PAOBoston]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

Could be as simple as we could be going to move Thompson.

Possibly. I’m not a huge Timelord fan. He’s not reliable. If Horford is here when training camp starts, I think he starts and Timelord comes off the bench.

[hpantazo]

The Celtics obviously knew what Kemba’s value was around the league, as the team had discussions about trying to trade him during the season. This is why Kemba demanded a trade recently, after learning about this, which only lowered his trade value. Kemba may have been a nice guy, but he was a sieve on defense, didn’t create open looks for teammates, and his scoring was inconsistent. Horford may not be the players he was before, but he should be more reliable on defense, help with passing, and provide easier scoring chances in the paint. As for Moses Brown, I see his inclusion as being the 16th pick in this upcoming draft, but with NBA experience and closer to contributing.

I would like to thank Brad Stevens for getting this trade done today. I’m not sure how many trade ideas involving Kemba, I could have tolerated this off season, especially when the ideas were for players like Lillard, Beal, Simmons, Towns, etc. simply because the salaries were close.

It was demoralizing to see Kemba on the bench , not playing in playoffs ,  for fan base and his teammates at 140 million .. :……..

Thanks to CBS for taking care of this ASAP , so the new coach can start will somebody at point he can count on to get up off the bench and actually play ball

Missing the first half of the season and then not playing in back to backs really killed the flow and chemistry of the team too.

[Vermont Green]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

Could be as simple as we could be going to move Thompson.

Move Thompson for what?  I could see us willing to have Horford, Williams, Brown as the primary Centers, no issue there, but what does that gain us other than saving money?  Is that just to allow us to sign Fournier?  I wonder who would want him and has cap space or TPE to take him if the idea is to just shed salary?

[Tr1boy]

Brogdon, Lamb

for

Smart, Langford, Thompson

I'm down for that. Really like Brogdon.

Hang onto Langford.

Or not.  Kid can't shoot 

3 for 7 from 3 pt land  in final playoff game

Not bad

[Tr1boy]

Soon after reports that Boston starting point guard Kemba Walker and the Celtics were “likely to move forward” from their relationship this coming offseason, pushback began to bubble up from sources who would know the mind of the former UConn star.

One of them was his cousin Kedow Walker in fact, who tweeted his derision of the story published by Bleacher Report’s Farbod Esnaashari. He tweeted “[dang]nnn who in the camp nomore than me?? Man … these ppl really be bogus as hell” Wednesday afternoon, seemingly in response to the Bleacher Report story suggesting his brother Kemba and Boston mutually wanted a fresh start.


He would later tweet “the ppl can do or believe what they want. We gone stay solid like we ALWAYS been!!”]

Hmmm

[BringToughnessBack]

Pretty fast and amazing. Brad did a fair trade for both sides. Kemba will be a Knicks player before  next season is over.

Well, 2023/24, Both Embiid and Zion are free agents 😁Brown is as well. Big FA year. Imagine one of those two monsters at C with Brown and Tatum.

Two year stop gaps and target a big fish or 2. Time will tell what Brad’s master plan is though. If he wants to build a super trio though, it will happen in 23-24.

One thing is apparent though, he knows Horford fits much better for two years vs Kemba. Happy to have him back. I wish Kemba well too- he was refreshing and an overall nice guy.

[Celtics2021]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

I think TimeLord is out if he can fetch something valuable.  Horford is starting, and TL is entering free agency next year.  It seems like he’s missed his opportunity here, but shown enough to get one somewhere else.  At a low salary for next season, I would think he has reasonable trade value.

I’d love to lose Thompson, but I’m also okay with keeping him as a backup, with Moses as the #3 option.  Keeping TL seems like a luxury item that will be wasted in the same way we kept Rozier his final year.

[fmbl24]

Has anyone done a podcast yet After the new trade? I was hoping Bill Simmons or Zack low would do an emergency podcast but so far nothing.

Any suggestions?

[fmbl24]

https://youtu.be/EtUJD7WLPts

Woj on sportcenter

[nickagneta]

Think one of the subplots here that hasn’t been brought up really is what this means for Timelord. Cs just got two bigs. I don’t think the Cs really trust Timelord and they are bracing themselves for his inevitable injuries. Timelord has got a lot riding on this upcoming season. Not convinced he starts with Horford here. Think they will split time at the 5.

Could be as simple as we could be going to move Thompson.

Possibly. I’m not a huge Timelord fan. He’s not reliable. If Horford is here when training camp starts, I think he starts and Timelord comes off the bench.

The only thing I dislike about Timelord is his time off. That bone edema in his hip, unlike Kemba's arthritis, is a major debilitating issue going forward for Robert. I think he could be a limited minutes type guy in order to ensure he can play 70+ games a year and be healthy for the playoffs.

Trading Kemba to bring in Horford and a young center prospect that is +7 feet tall, long, athletic and in his first 50 games put up 9/9 with more than a block in 21 MPG and had some very impressive double double games, is excellent Timelord insurance.

Brad now has Thompson's salary to use in a trade and the Celtics have a center rotation of Horford/Timelord/Moses. If they keep Grant Williams, they have their small ball center guy that would help if Timelord does get injured.

With injuries and rest days the centers could all average around 20 MPG. None are 32+ MPG worthy at this point, so if Timelord needs to be managed for maximum results playing 20 MPG and getting days off, this allows Horford to play around 28 and in games in which Horford and TL are injured or being load managed, MBrown can get playing time at 20+ per game in those scenarios.

To me freeing up TT to be dealt and solidifying the center position in a logical way that protects against Timelord missing time with a massive loss in quality of performance makes this trade a good trade....an excellent jumping off point to restructuring the team in Brad's view.