Al Horford, Boston Celtics. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The offseason is a busy time for teams to make trades, especially in the days on either side of the NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder decided that they didn’t want to wait that long, agreeing early in the offseason calendar to a trade centered on Kemba Walker and Al Horford.
The Boston Celtics recently reshuffled their organizational structure, with longtime President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge stepping away from the team, and former head coach Brad Stevens being elevated to replace him. As far as the basketball world knew, he was focused on hiring his own replacement as head coach.
Across the country, the Oklahoma City Thunder and general manager Sam Presti continue their asset churn, flipping players for worse contracts and picks, then rinsing and repeating. While the biggest moment of their offseason comes on Tuesday night at the NBA Draft Lottery, Presti did not rest on his laurels as he worked with his new counterpart in Stevens to work out a deal.
What were the details of the trade?
Around 9:00 am on the east coast Friday morning, the NBA world was bored. No major news had dropped in the 10 or so hours since the Milwaukee Bucks forced a Game 7 the night before. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski fixed that with his latest Woj Bomb:
The Boston Celtics will move on from their All-Star point guard in Kemba Walker, in return welcoming back their former All-Star big man in Al Horford. They also are getting young center Moses Brown to provide frontcourt depth. The Thunder pick up a mid-first rounder for this year’s draft and a distant second, and will send the Celtics someone’s 2023 second.
Spotrac’s Twitter account helpfully highlights the salary differences involved in the deal:
There will be more information we gather about this deal, including whether the Celtics retain Brown or waive his salary, and what 2023 second-round pick is sent out. Given what we know now, how did the Celtics and Thunder make out in his surprise swapping of NBA veterans?
NBA Draft</a>. The <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/boston-celtics/">Boston Celtics</a> and <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/oklahoma-city-thunder/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> decided that they didn’t want to wait that long, agreeing early in the offseason calendar to a trade centered on Kemba Walker and Al Horford.</p>
<p>The <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://hardwoodhoudini.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston Celtics</a> recently reshuffled their organizational structure, with longtime President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge stepping away from the team, and former head coach Brad Stevens being elevated to replace him. As far as the basketball world knew, he was focused on hiring his own replacement as head coach.</p>
<p>Across the country, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://thunderousintentions.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> and general manager Sam Presti continue their asset churn, flipping players for worse contracts and picks, then rinsing and repeating. While the biggest moment of their offseason comes on Tuesday night at the NBA Draft Lottery, Presti did not rest on his laurels as he worked with his new counterpart in Stevens to work out a deal.</p>
<h2>What were the details of the trade?</h2>
<p>Around 9:00 am on the east coast Friday morning, the NBA world was bored. No major news had dropped in the 10 or so hours since the Milwaukee Bucks forced a Game 7 the night before. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski fixed that with his latest Woj Bomb:</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Celtics are trading Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round draft pick to Oklahoma City for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN.</p>
<p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1405875739434573828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>The Boston Celtics will move on from their All-Star point guard in Kemba Walker, in return welcoming back their former All-Star big man in Al Horford. They also are getting young center Moses Brown to provide frontcourt depth. The Thunder pick up a mid-first rounder for this year’s draft and a distant second, and will send the Celtics someone’s 2023 second.</p>
<p>Spotrac’s Twitter account helpfully highlights the salary differences involved in the deal:</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kemba Walker to OKC<br>2021-22: $36M<br>2022-23: $37.6M player option</p>
<p>Al Horford to BOS<br>2021-22: $27M<br>2022-23: $26.5M (1/2 GTD)</p>
<p>Moses Brown to BOS<br>2 yrs, $3.5M non-g'teed <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://t.co/28E9GkmNTF">https://t.co/28E9GkmNTF
<p>— Spotrac (@spotrac) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://twitter.com/spotrac/status/1405878596548300809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>There will be more information we gather about this deal, including whether the Celtics retain Brown or waive his salary, and what 2023 second-round pick is sent out. Given what we know now, how did the Celtics and Thunder make out in his surprise swapping of NBA veterans?</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Grading the Celtics </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-420202" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1294650974.jpeg" alt="Al Horford, Oklahoma City Thunder" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1294650974.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1294650974-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA Trade Grades: Boston Celtics land Al Horford again</h2>
<p>The Boston Celtics’ season did not go as planned. They began the year with veteran point guard <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walkeke02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Kemba Walker</a> on the pine recovering from offseason surgery, and early in the year lost Jayson Tatum to COVID-19. Even when he returned he was still dealing with side effects from the sickness. The Celtics stumbled into the playoffs without Jaylen Brown, sidelined with a wrist injury, and by the end of their five-game playoff loss were without Walker and center Robert Williams.</p>
<p>Something had to happen to shake things up, and trading Walker was both obvious and difficult. The 31-year-old point guard is not aging well, with injuries and his lack of size both leading to an accelerated decline. It became increasingly clear he was going to limit this team’s upside. Yet with two years and roughly $73 million owed on his contract, how were the Celtics going to find a taker?</p>
<p>The answer was twofold: they needed to attach a draft pick, and they needed to trade for someone else being overpaid. They accomplished those things in swapping Walker for Al Horford, who previously played for Brad Stevens and the Celtics from 2016 to 2019.</p>
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<p>Horford is under contract for just $53 million this year and next, and only $41 million of that is guaranteed. That’s a significant chunk of cap relief for the Celtics, who now have the flexibility to make other changes to the roster.</p>
<p>Horford provides the veteran presence at center that Boston tried to find in last year’s free agent signing Tristan Thompson, as they are clearly not yet ready to trust the oft-injured Robert Williams III with the full-time role.</p>
<p>Horford is a career 36.4 percent 3-point shooter who hit 38.2 percent of his triples while with the Celtics. If the Celtics do re-sign Evan Fournier, or presumably pick another guard as their fifth starter, Horford’s spacing means the Celtics would effectively be 5-out, with Marcus Smart the team’s worst outside shooter. That is offensive flexibility this team simply didn’t have last year with Thompson and Williams.</p>
<p>The Celtics also bring in young center Moses Brown, who got some minutes on a tanking Thunder squad and made the most of them this past season. In 21.4 minutes per game he put up 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, good for 14.5 points and 15 rebounds per-36 minutes.</p>
<p>His offensive rebound percentage ranked in the 99th percentile leaguewide, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/18/nba-trade-rumors-celtics-thunder-kemba-walker/"https://dunksandthrees.com/epm">per Dunks & Threes</a>, and in the 94th percentile for defensive rebounds. He needs offensive polish, but he is well worth the $3.5 million of non-guaranteed money on his contract for next season. With the Celtics shipping out their first round pick, he is a worthy flyer to bring in some young blood with upside to the roster.</p>
<p>Boston will be giving up the 16th pick in the draft, which might be a relief for the traumatized Celtics fans dreading another mid-first round pick. Whether it be Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Guerschon Yabusele, Terry Rozier; There is no home run pick from the Celtics’ recent history in that area of the draft. With a packed roster, it’s not a terrible move to use the pick to reduce salary and retool the roster and add a young prospect in Brown instead.</p>
<p>In the end, the Celtics are betting they can find a replacement point guard to fit into their rotation alongside Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard. The money saved from moving Walker will allow them to either re-sign Evan Fournier or add another guard in free agency, and they still have part of their trade exception from the Gordon Hayward deal if they want to swing another trade — a trade made more feasible with more breathing room under the tax line or tax apron, respectively.</p>
<p>This deal also signals that new President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is not planning a “consolidation year” of being bad before making another push. He believes this team, built around their wing duo of Tatum and Brown, is ready to compete now.</p>
<p>Horford should help them do that. He left the Celtics to get paid and ended up on a Philadelphia 76ers roster that tried to start four bigs. When that didn’t work, he was sent to the tanking Thunder. He was sublime when he did play, breaking open the offense to let young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cook, before the team shut him down to preserve his body and maximize their pick. He should be able to contribute in important ways on this Celtics roster.</p>
<p>There probably weren’t better options out there for a Walker deal, and Stevens knows what he is getting in Horford. I think it’s totally fine that the Celtics decided not to add another middling draft pick but rather to use that capital to open up roster flexibility.</p>
<p><strong>Final Grade: B+</strong></p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA Trade Grades: Oklahoma City Thunder send out Al Horford for Kemba Walker</h2>
<p>The calculus for the Oklahoma City Thunder in evaluating this deal is much simpler. They are firmly in asset maximization mode, with the entire organization behind general manager Sam Presti in ignoring team success while maximizing the future potential.</p>
<p>The Thunder are succeeding and then some at that plan. They might be able to achieve a Process-Sixers level of talent acquisition without the half-decade of misery. Their tear-down was achieved through trades balanced towards the Thunder, and since then they have continued to take on veteran contracts from teams needing to move off of them and flipped them to teams who could better use them. They’re the most handsomely paid middle man in NBA history.</p>
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<p>In 2017 the Thunder flipped Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott to the New York Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. Anthony and a pick became Dennis Schroder, who the Thunder rehabilitated and turned into Danny Green and a first from the Los Angeles Lakers. Danny Green then went to the Philadelphia 76ers for Al Horford and a first before he even played a game for the Thunder.</p>
<p>Horford now becomes Kemba Walker and a first from the Boston Celtics, with Moses Brown and a second added to Boston’s side and the Thunder getting back a 2025 second from the Celtics. The Thunder will take on the extra $20 million or so over the next two seasons and for their trouble they receive a first round pick in this year’s NBA Draft.</p>
<p>This pick gives the Thunder three first-rounders and three second-rounders in July’s Draft. They have a shot at two high-lottery picks, but at the worst, they will have a top-10 pick and two in the late teens after this deal. They also have 18 first-round picks over the next seven drafts.</p>
<p>The Thunder will need to spin these picks into something real. The Boston Celtics in fact are a recent example of a team that struggled to use a treasure trove of draft picks. Yet it’s always better to have the assets than not, and there is no reason to think Presti won’t be as aggressive in using the picks as he was in accumulating them.</p>
<p>Giving up Brown is fine given that the Thunder will add five or six players in the draft. He was fine this past year, but they will keep cycling through players of his ilk and trying to keep or flip the ones that pop. If he was worth something of value to get this deal done, it was easily worth it.</p>
<p><strong>Final Grade: A</strong></p>
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