OT: Kemba traded to Thunder

[the Q]

Ball will NEVER stay in Charlotte - his father will ensure that - its LA, Miami or NYC/Brooklyn bound and soon
That's the Ball family MO

Let’s see how lonzo plays out.

Let’s see if he plays out his rookie deal rather than sign a big deal that NO matches

 

[gtcam]

I think they’re toast the next 2 years, which is why the moving of 16 is brutal

I dont see it that way - Kemba did very little and they played better without him in the lineup more times than not - they needed a big that has an offensive game - Horford gives them that option - I see them in the playoffs, with Tatum, Brown, Marcus all healthy they are very hard to defend

 

[Adios]

Ball will NEVER stay in Charlotte - his father will ensure that - its LA, Miami or NYC/Brooklyn bound and soon
That's the Ball family MO

Jordan is above his pops and will always be, in this world order. So time shall tell. LaMelo can be the Dwayne Wade of Charlotte, and the Carolinas are a decent sized market. The Heat do have the southeastern US riding it's bandwagon coattails right now.

Marc Lasry is a snotty man who also has some power and was able to get Giannis to stay in Milwaukee.

 

[Samoo]

Brad Stevens first move as GM is an absolutely horrible one. Kemba didn't have a great year but this trade makes absolutely no sense.

1.) Nobody cares why you don't like the NBA

Today's winner...

 

[bendm]

A valuable first to trade for a worse player with a similarly bad contract

i wouldnt call a 20 million difference similarly bad

 

[Lefty2one]

i wouldnt call a 20 million difference similarly bad

Also, apparently the final year of Horford's deal isn't fully guaranteed but I can't find the specifics.

 

[kemba]

The thing is with Kemba, being on a contender "exposed" him. He went from that plucky little engine that could down in Charlotte to a max contract player who is a total defensive liability with no knees. if he can tough out 5 more above-average years at a non-contender/borderline playoff team below the radar, he becomes a fringe-HOF guy with a pretty solid what could have been narrative. If he ends up on another contender, he falls back into his current overpaid, injury prone, one dimensional-player label and may not get much more than the vet minimum once his current deal ends. Its sad but Kemba isn't a championship level starter at this stage of his career.

Ehh, I'd say the knee injury was the main problem, which I don't believe was a major issue, or maybe not an issue at all in Charlotte. You can hide one bad defender. On a contender it should be easier to.

 

[navery12]

Also, apparently the final year of Horford's deal isn't fully guaranteed but I can't find the specifics.

Only $14.5M guaranteed for 2022-23, $19.5M if the Celtics make the 2022 Finals, fully guaranteed if they win the 2022 Finals

 

[HuskyHawk]

Only $14.5M guaranteed for 2022-23, $19.5M if the Celtics make the 2022 Finals, fully guaranteed if they win the 2022 Finals

Bad job by Al’s agent, who was obviously counting on him being in Philly. At least his odds went up with this. Anna seems happy.

 

[the Q]

Only $14.5M guaranteed for 2022-23, $19.5M if the Celtics make the 2022 Finals, fully guaranteed if they win the 2022 Finals

Yeah there’s next to no chance of it being more than 14.5m

 

[Dove]

Stevens hates UConn.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah there’s next to no chance of it being more than 14.5m

Per ESPN, if they waive him, they have to renounce Smart. What?

Celtics-Thunder trade grades: How Al Horford fits in Boston (espn.com)

 

[the Q]

Per ESPN, if they waive him, they have to renounce Smart. What?

Celtics-Thunder trade grades: How Al Horford fits in Boston (espn.com)

I wonder if they mean to have any type of meaningful cap space

 

[HuskyHawk]

I wonder if they mean to have any type of meaningful cap space

Perhaps, but it was stated very matter of fact. No chance they'd renounce Smart. Lots of teams would trade for him. As I said before, Tatum and Brown are very young. Williams is young. Nesmith and Pritchard can improve. There's no rush. In two years you have cap space to sign a star, those five guys are all probably better than today, and you make a run.

 

[champs99and04]

The thing is with Kemba, being on a contender "exposed" him.

I'd say yes and no. It's true that there's not a huge appetite in the league right now for 6'0 two guards that leave you exposed to all sorts of mismatches on the other end. He does not seem particularly well-built physically for the gauntlet that is playoff basketball, and that's probably the most damning thing you can say about him, in addition to the fact that he hasn't been efficient enough - especially in the postseason - to warrant shooting at such a high volume.

But he's also clearly not the same player physically that he was in Charlotte, which makes him tough to judge. His production over his final few seasons there can't be marginalized, especially given how much better he was defensively compared to other smallish guards like Isaiah Thomas, Lou Williams, Jason Terry, etc. All the data pointed towards him being a legitimately really good player that carried those Charlotte teams.

Ultimately he found himself in that no man's land of being overqualified to lead bad teams (hence Charlotte picking in the late lottery every year) but maybe slightly underqualified to put a good team like the Celtics over the top. There just aren't a lot of guys like that.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I'm not a Celtics fan, but my immediate reaction is that the Thunder "won" the trade.

Pros:

• Celtics can make out of this with net savings of $20 million. I can't explain why, but this article does.
• Moses Brown had some big games
  • 21p, 23r vs Boston
  • 24p, 18r, 7b vs Clippers
  • 20p, 16r, 5b vs Chicago
• Celtics can now afford to resign Evan Fournier and use the

Cons:

• Walker is overpaid, but so is Horford. Walker is a much better player.
• They gave up the 16th overall pick.

Personally, I don't think the dealing is done.

Interesting bit:

 

[the Q]

I'm not a Celtics fan, but my immediate reaction is that the Thunder "won" the trade.

Pros:

• Celtics can make out of this with net savings of $20 million. I can't explain why, but this article does.
• Moses Brown had some big games
  • 21p, 23r vs Boston
  • 24p, 18r, 7b vs Clippers
  • 20p, 16r, 5b vs Chicago
• Celtics can now afford to resign Evan Fournier and use the

Cons:

• Walker is overpaid, but so is Horford. Walker is a much better player.
• They gave up the 16th overall pick.

Personally, I don't think the dealing is done.

Interesting bit:

They cannot afford to sign Fournier if they are not going to pay the tax, which seems to be what is expected by some of the best writers

 

[Tiamat7]

This is gonna be a 2-3 year stretch of mediocrity.

This draft had enough interesting youth that you could’ve found a really good player at 16.

Better than normal

I hope Mater is as good as advertised. He’s going to need to be

Perhaps the relevant comparison is this year's #16 pick vs Moses Brown, he of the team friendly contract and a random 20 pts 20 rebound game against the C's.

Plus the cap improvement after sending Walker away.

Hope Kemba regains his health and then the Thunder trade him to a contender at the deadline.

 

[MDHuskFan]

The baffling part of this trade is that Horford & Moses are both 5’s. So you trade for a young prospect who produces, and also his roadblock

 

[Woodson]

Three main reasons I watch about 17 minutes of NBA play per year, including the playoffs:
-very few games with any UConn players lately;
-manufacturing "great" plays by requiring 4 steps before calling traveling;
-the "music" and sounds of a beating bass drum as the background for the 9 people chanting "defense"......
-the contracts which make it difficult for players like Latrell Sprewell to "feed their families". Horford, for example, will only have been paid $299,851,245 upon completion of his current contract. Imagine, he'll forever have to live with the stigma that he never made $300,000,000.

You don't like people making money? Or just basketball players?

 

[UCTitleTown]

I hate to say this, but Kemba will never be fully healthy. He has chronic issues with his knees. That's not going away. I'm just hoping he has a solid end to his career and can enjoy a healthy life after basketball. He's rich. Health is more important.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

As someone who lives in Charlotte, I wish he never left. He was loved in this city, he would have had a statue outside the arena.

 

[Adios]

Moses Brown alone may very well make the trade worth it for the Cs.

 

[Travelman6]

Tatum was the first to react to the news, calling Walker his "boy (for life)" in an Instagram story.

Smart then chimed in on Twitter, calling Kemba "one of the best teammates I've ever had."

My brother @KembaWalker , glad I got to play with you bro!!! OKC got a special talent https://post original url/axYk8PZRKp

— Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) June 18, 2021

 

[husky99]

My buddy who works for espn thinks walker could move again or possible 2x more in trades.