NBA Trade Tracker: Implications of the Kemba Walker Deal

This article is part of our NBA Trade Tracker series.

Boston Celtic President Brad Stevens hasn't wasted any time adjusting to his new role. In a whopper of a deal, Stevens sends Kemba Walker and Boston's 2021 first-round pick to the Thunder for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a swap of second-rounders, per ESPN's Woj:

The implications of this deal are pretty big and could be the first domino in a bunch of moves for the Celtics, and possibly OKC.

Boston Celtics

Boston frees up roughly $19 million in salary by moving Walker's remaining $73 million to OKC in exchange for the two years and $52 million remaining on Big Al's contract. But the second year of Horford's contract, 2022-23, is only partially guaranteed at roughly $14 million, so we could be looking at a one-and-done return season for Horford in Boston.

That freed up money could go a few different ways. Does it help Boston retain UFA Evan Fournier, whose price might be cheap considering his injury woes and rough play after leaving Orlando? Or do they use that money to get point guard help? Second-year guard Payton Pritchard now sits atop the PG depth chart. Next season could be a HUGE opportunity for Pritchard, who shot an impressive 41.1% from behind the arc as a rookie. 

Marcus Smart could also see even more minutes at point guard. Smart's ball-handling duties were increased when Walker missed 29 regular-season games and two playoff games last season. The results were mixed. Smart averaged a career-high 5.7 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game, but the extended floor general responsibilities seemed to take away some of Smart's defensive prowess, as demonstrated by his slight decrease in steals per game (1.7 in 2019-20, 1.5 in 2020-21).

The other big Celtic impact is at center. Buried beneath the trade headlines is the inclusion of 7-foot-1 Moses Brown and his team-friendly, four-year, $6.8 million contract. Boston now has a log-jam at center with Brown, 35-year-old Horford, restricted free agent Robert Williams and Tristan Thompson. My hunch is that Boston will work hard to move Thompson and the one-year, $9.7 million remaining on his deal. Thompson was signed last offseason for one reason: to guard Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. Thompson failed miserably. In back-to-back late January games versus the Sixers, Thompson allowed Embiid to score 42 and then 38 points. Celtic Nation was disgusted.

The newly added depth at center could also soften the blow of allowing Timelord, er, Robert Williams to leave via free agency. One on hand, Williams shined in his third season, averaging career highs in points (8.0), rebounds (6.9), blocks (1.8) and minutes (18.9) per game. He proved to be a defensive game-changer and provided instant energy. On the other hand, he once again suffered from the injury bug, missing 20 games. In three seasons, Timelord missed 113 of a possible 236 career regular-season games (per RotoWire scribe Adam Wolf). Williams' hip injuries are of particular concern. Should another team throw a truckload of money at Williams, Boston might now decide to let the restricted free agent walk instead of matching the offer. 

Oklahoma City Thunder

It seems likely that Walker will be handled with kid gloves by OKC. This trade follows Sam Presti's long-established pattern of taking on bad contracts in exchange for draft capital. The Thunder now have three first-round picks in 2021 and 18 first-rounders over the next seven seasons.

Unlike when Chris Paul was with the Thunder, OKC is now in complete rebuild mode. They have no reason to play Walker and stunt the growth of second-year point guard Theo Maledon. Maledon is only 20 years old and has two years and a team option remaining on a very team-friendly contract. Presti needs to find out whether Maledon is a building block or someone to replace via all those draft picks. Maledon is still an excellent late-round fantasy draft pick flier, assuming the youngster can improve on the 36.8 FG% he shot as a rookie. The minutes and scoring opportunities will loom large for the young, French guard in 2021-22.

Expect Presti to use one of this summer's first-round picks on a center. The current OKC depth chart currently has Isaiah Roby and Tony Bradley as the top two options at center, yet neither is a viable solution. Roby is only 6-foot-8 and offers only minimal rim protection. He's also a poor shooter. Bradley is bench fodder and the owner of far too many DNP's. OKC's top center for 2021-22 is probably not yet on the roster.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Boston gains flexibility, and OKC gathers even more draft capital. This is very similar to last year's deal that saw Al Horford go from Philly to OKC. Like that Philly deal, today's trade has the potential to help both teams.