NBA Free Agency has officially begun, and it brings one of the biggest shakeups the league has ever seen. With nearly 40% of the NBA now free to choose where they continue their careers, some players chose to quickly make their free agent decision. One of those players is former Hornets’ PG Kemba Walker. Walker has officially committed to a four-year, $141 million max deal with the Boston Celtics.
He’s played the entirety of his career with the Charlotte Hornets. Now, he enters a new challenge as the best player on, what should be, a championship-level team. As for the Celtics, they replaced Kyrie Irving who was, to many, the root of their problems this past season. The Celtics continue their quest for their 17th NBA Championship by completing a signing that’ll have clear pros and cons.
Kemba Finally Gets to Contend
The top criticism of Kemba Walker has been that he doesn’t win. His time with the Hornets saw Walker making two playoff appearances in eight years. His overall record with the Hornets was 263-377 (.411). Although his numbers said Walker was a great player, the wins didn’t follow. Walker was a great player in Charlotte who was titled, to some, as nothing more than a player with empty stats. Now, that changes with Boston.
Kemba Walker never had the chance to play alongside players the caliber of those he’s about to encounter with the Celtics. Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Gordon Hayward give the Celtics a team that can certainly compete for an NBA Championship. The .411 win percentage that Walker experienced during his time with Charlotte was one that’ll never happen with the young and hungry Boston Celtics. To many, it was a surprise that the Celtics only had a 49-33 record with a healthy team. Their season ended at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, who beat them 4-1 in the East Semifinals.
But, the problems with the Celtics’ season reportedly revolved around Kyrie Irving and his attitude. Now, with Kyrie gone, Boston is Kemba’s playground. He has the opportunity to do what Kyrie couldn’t, and that’s lead the Celtics to another NBA Championship.
Boston Put Themselves in Good Shape
Irving and Al Horford were both keys pieces on the Celtics that decided to enter free agency, leaving Boston behind. This left both fans and media to criticize how the Celtics would shape their future. Blame was being put on Danny Ainge for the completely botched Kyrie experiment. Reports even suggested that the Celtics were going to begin to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Despite all of the drama, the Celtics have put themselves into a position to contend again. Kemba Walker is an elite player that needs to feel what it’s like to play for a championship-driven franchise. Boston, on the other hand, needed to replace the star they had in Irving. Even though the Celtics were able to find a suitable replacement for Irving, it may still be a dip from the player Irving is.
Boston Remains in the Championship Hunt
Are the Boston Celtics the best team in the East? For now, yes. The Sixers have to worry about the free agency of JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, and Tobias Harris. The Raptors have to worry about Kawhi Leonard with the likelihood of him leaving being more and more. Milwaukee has the free agency of Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon to prepare for as well. And, on top of that, the Bucks decided to waive George Hill – a critical piece of their NBA-best 60-win season.
Boston just needs a big man to replace Al Horford and really mesh this team together. They’ve had the tools for years. Now, the roster has Walker, Tatum, Brown, Hayward, Smart, and a promising rookie in Carsen Edwards. If you look at this roster on paper, why can’t they repeat what the 2018 team did in the postseason?
Kyrie or Kemba: Who’s Better For Boston?
Now that Kemba is signing with Boston, the comparisons with Kyrie Irving will obviously be drawn. Both players have similar skillsets that allow them to flourish specifically when it comes to scoring. Their respective averages this past season will also ramp up debates as to who’s the better fit for Boston.
| Kyrie Irving | Kemba Walker | |
| PTS | 23.8 | 25.6 |
| REB | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| AST | 6.9 | 5.9 |
| STL | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| FG% | 48.7 | 43.4 |
| 3PT% | 40.1 | 35.6 |
| TO | 2.6 | 2.6 |
In terms of stats, Kyrie is, without a doubt, the better player. In fact, no one really needs the numbers to know that Irving is just an advanced version of Walker. However, on a team like Boston, that isn’t the whole story. Boston’s issues this past season stemmed from off-court chemistry issues. One year ago, the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs after being one game away from the NBA Finals. That was a team that didn’t have Irving or Hayward at their disposal. Boston was banged up and still found a way to take LeBron and the Cavs to seven games in the ECF.
That led to the very high expectations for the 2018-19 season. Boston obviously didn’t live up to them, and that’s (once again) largely the fault of Kyrie Irving. He wasn’t a leader for this Boston team. In fact, Irving, reportedly, was a negative person to be around. We all heard Irving say he would re-sign with Boston if they’d have him, and that clearly was a lie.
Irving was a negative influence to be around and listen to, which led to on-court issues. Kemba isn’t this type of player. The type of player he seems to be is a pure scorer who needs to show he can bring wins to a team. In Charlotte, the only thing he lacked was the ability to win more games for his team. In Boston, that should not and will not be a problem for Kemba Walker.
Concerns Surrounding the Signing
Kyrie Irving is a ball-dominant player. Some may believe that the signing of Kemba Walker was an absolutely terrible idea. But, in all honesty, they may not be wrong. Even without the off-court drama of Kyrie Irving, he simply didn’t click with this Celtics roster. His play-style is giving him the ball and letting go to work.
Kyrie was unable to play to his max potential because he had so much talent around him. Irving couldn’t hold the ball for as long as he did during his Cleveland days because of the talent available for Boston to work with. Now, with Kemba, he didn’t have other notable players in Charlotte. In fact, Kemba needs the ball more than Kyrie does.
The concerns lie in whether or not Kemba will be able to adjust Brad Stevens’ style. Although Kemba is a dropoff from the player Kyrie is, Walker should be able to adjust his role to be a team player. That most likely means fewer points but a higher field goal percentage which is beneficial, as Walker has never shot above 44% in his career.
Pressure is on for Boston
After this signing, Boston has no more excuses to make. Last season’s failure was mostly blamed on the off-court drama and on-court inability to adjust by Kyrie Irving. Now that Kyrie is gone, the Celtics are expected to be back in the championship picture. Will Boston’s other problems expose themselves? Maybe the true problem was the way Danny Ainge constructed the team. Perhaps it was the way Brad Stevens’ relationship with Gordon Hayward impacted the rotation that caused Boston’s turmoil. All of these questions will be answered with this signing. But, as of now, the Celtics are full-fledged contenders.
Wrapping it Up
This signing tells us a lot about the way the Celtics think in regards to their roster. Led by Jayson Tatum, they made it to the ECF two years ago. If that success was possible, then why not try that same formula? Ainge believes that the Celtics need a prominent star in order to contend. But, the truth is, they don’t. Walker is a great addition to this team and an even better replacement for Kyrie Irving.
However, it would’ve been nice to see the Celtics move away from the notion that they need a star to succeed. They have a solid core led by terrific young players. Nevertheless, Kemba should be great for this Celtics franchise. Boston signs their third star PG in four years, and with that signing, Kemba Walker finally gets to show the world the type of player he really is.