The Boston Celtics came into this season as one of the frontrunners to win an Eastern Conference title.
Unfortunately, the team disappointed from start to finish – culminating in Danny Ainge’s abrupt “retirement” from the organization and chatter of the roster being completely blown up this summer.
The Miami Heat, similarly, entered 2020-21 with a lot of momentum from the prior year’s run to the NBA Finals. They too disappointed badly – ultimately getting swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round of the playoffs.
One of the big problem areas for Boston this year was Kemba Walker not being the right fit for the roster.
Walker averaged 19.3 points per game, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game this year. He did his offensive damage on 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
As such, although he couldn’t truly find a place in Boston, he likely won’t have too much trouble finding a new home.
According to David Aldridge of The Athletic, Walker to the Heat makes a ton of sense for all parties involved.
“Miami, same thing, makes sense,” Aldridge noted this week.
“[Goran] Dragic is on his way out. They’ll probably re-sign him for short money. But they need a point guard long-term, and Kemba’s pretty good. So, there’s suitors. There’s teams where it makes sense to go get Kemba Walker.”
Yikes Adrien Broner https://t.co/6PvzjfA3yH
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 14, 2021
Between trading away Jayson Tatum’s best friend and opting out of a trade for James Harden for the weirdest of reasons, it has been one misstep after another for the Celtics this year. A way to start repairing the damage would be to offload Walker to Miami.
For the Heat, meanwhile, Walker would provide a competent guard to complement what Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo bring to the table.
It’s rare in the NBA that a trade between two really strong teams can be deemed a win-win, but if this transaction actually goes down, it would definitely fit that bill.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
