There’s still plenty of time ahead of the March 25 trade deadline, but Celtics president Danny Ainge reportedly isn’t afraid to check out his options.
Making an appearance on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, NBA analyst Ric Bucher said Ainge tried to move Celtics guard Kemba Walker earlier this year, who’s been recovering his knee from an offseason injection.
“A lot of GMs are ticked off at Danny because Danny tried like hell to move Kemba at the beginning of the year, knowing that his knee wasn’t right,” Bucher said. “He was trying to get rid of damaged goods. That’s the issue that Kemba is dealing with, and at his size, it’s a little bit like Isaiah Thomas.”
Walker’s been playing through a tough season since he returned to the court Jan. 17. He’s shown flashes of his former All-Star self, like in a 28-point game against the Hawks.
But for the most part, the efficiency and scoring are down. Walker is averaging 17 points and 4.1 assists per game this season on 37.1% shooting and 34.3% on 3-pointers.
Walker said he’s getting healthier by the day. Bucher compared Walker’s situation and size to Thomas, whose hip injury derailed him from MVP candidate to currently trying to make it back to the NBA. Ainge eventually shipped Thomas to Cleveland in return for Kyrie Irving, though Irving eventually left for the Nets via free agency.
Walker is currently in the second year of a 4-year, $141 million contract he signed during the 2019 offseason.
“In the regular season, you can kind of get away with it and disguise it,” Bucher said. “But when you play the best teams, they’re going to exploit that he’s undersized and can’t move the same way that he once could.”
Bucher and Cowherd discussed the Celtics for a few minutes on the podcast, adding they liked guys like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis and other players. They noted, however, the team was still at least a piece away from competing for a championship.
“I don’t know that there’s one specific thing other than they’re good,” Bucher said. “They’re not great. There’s nothing that they’re great at. … They’ll be competitive. They’ll be a playoff team. But they’re not a championship-contending team.”