Fuck The Kyrie Irving Era, Kemba Walker Is Reportedly A Boston Celtic
Danny Ainge has done it again! One of the best free agents of this summer’s class has found a new home and that home is the Boston Celtics. Lose an All NBA point guard one minute, bring in another just a few weeks later. That is why you always have to trust that Danny Ainge has a plan. Did he give a shit that Kyrie was leaving? Nope, he already had his replacement in mind and you can sure as shit do a whole lot worse than a three time all star and player who just made an All NBA team. Think of how many franchises would be destroyed once that type of talent leaves their roster, the Celtics let the internet get jokes off for a few days and then boom, Danny comes out on top once again. It’s truly incredible.
Now this news isn’t all that shocking, we’ve known this was just a matter of time for the last few days, but seeing the official Shams/Woj bombs is still pretty crazy. Considering many Celtics fans like myself went nearly our whole lives without a major free agent signing, here we are with the 3rd in a row when Ainge has had money to spend. All that talk about how the Celtics aren’t a destination and how big time players don’t want to play there, well, how do you deny the facts? I will once again point you back to Ainge’s quotes a few weeks ago
He knew the whole time. That’s why he wasn’t freaking out when it looked like his franchise was burning up in flames. There’s always a plan and step one to this plan is landing Kemba. So what are they getting? Listen I don’t think anyone will say he’s a better basketball player than Kyrie Irving. Let’s not get stupid. From a talent and production standpoint maybe he’s 85-90% of Kyrie. Here’s the thing though, we don’t know what Kemba looks like with the Brad Stevens bump. Every point guard in this system benefitted from that bump including Kyrie who became the best version of himself as a player under Brad’s system. If Kemba has a similar amount of success in Brad’s system, he’s going to get even better too which is scary to think about. He’s not quite the shooter, isn’t as effective coming off screens, or as a spot up shooter, but he is better at isolation and in the pick and roll. Those are just the facts.
In today’s NBA you pay what the market dictates for star players. That’s how it goes and Kemba’s price is what it takes to bring in that level of talent. You combine his skill with the leadership and zero drama he’s supposed to arrive with, it’s a win win all around. I’m excited to see what Kemba looks like now that he has better teammates and doesn’t have to be relied upon to do absolutely everything within an offense. My guess is that is going to help his efficiency some, which right now is his biggest knock. He’s not the shooter Kyrie was, but that’s looking at him in CHA’s offense, not this one.
Perception wise though, it was very important that the Celtics land someone of this caliber. With the Kyrie drama and the Horford departure, they needed a win. Maybe this is why Wyc said they were re-tooling and not rebuilding, because they knew an All NBA player was on the way. Of course the haters (predictably Sixers fans) will talk about how this is a terrible decision and do whatever they can to suppress their own insecurities, the fact of the matter is one of the best point guards in the league just joined the Celtics. Deal with it.
The next move is obviously to see where Ainge goes with the RME. There’s rumors of Kanter and Kevon Looney as options, but now that we know they have Kemba they filled a big piece of the puzzle. Danny Ainge man, this is why we believe.
Now, enjoy the highlights