Getty Former Celtics PG Kemba Walker.
The Boston Celtics‘ ability to unload high-priced point guard Kemba Walker this past offseason has been widely applauded across the NBA landscape. However, franchise legend Paul Pierce isn’t quite sure that moving off of the wily veteran was the best move for this year’s Celtics team.
“They lost a veteran point guard in Kemba Walker, I think that was a huge loss,” Pierce told Chris Mannix and Howard Beck on Sports Illustrated’s “The Crossover NBA Show” during a November 19th appearance. “I think if he had another year to get seasoned with them, they would have been better.”
Despite averaging nearly 20 points per game and notching both an Eastern Conference Finals appearance and an All-Star berth under his belt during his Celtics tenure, Walker’s time in Boston had clearly run its course. Headlined by injures and a monstrous price tag, the undersized point guard’s glimpses of deteriorating play and inability to suit up for back-to-back games made his remaining $73 million salary unreasonable for a franchise eyeing future cap flexibility.
“There are a lot of things that go into each and every decision,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens explained on WEEI’s “OMF” during the NESN/WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon in August. “Trading Kemba right off the bat was not fun and was not an easy thing to do but obviously the opportunity to get Al (Horford) back and some of the things that it opened up to be able to do here as we try to build towards the future — it was just part of it.”
Walker has struggled mightily to recapture his former All-Star form with the Knicks this season. The 31-year-old is averaging career lows in both points (11.7) and assists (3.0), while the backcourt combo of him and former Celtic Evan Fournier are heading a Knicks starting lineup that has been outscored by 16 points per 100 possessions.
Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroder Backcourt Paying Dividends
In Walker’s departure, the Celtics’ revamped backcourt has leaned on mainstay Marcus Smart and free-agent steal Dennis Schroder to man the majority of the minutes at the one-spot. Smart, who Boston inked to a $77 million extension shortly after Walker was dealt, struggled out the gates with his new lead-guard duties. However, he’s since begun to settle in quite nicely — especially with Schroder playing alongside him. The duo has started 11 games together this year, becoming what Bobby Manning of the Boston Sports Journal dubbed an “unlikely success story”:
The Celtics planned to use Marcus Smart and Schroder together anyway, particularly to close games. Al Horford’s COVID-19 case and Jaylen Brown’s hamstring injury then opened the door for two poor shooting point guards joining forces in the backcourt as starters for 11 games. Boston won seven of them and the duo became an unlikely success story, posting a +8.0 net rating together in 355 minutes, including a 100 defensive rating that ranks fourth among Boston’s two-man combos.
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Smart Settling in; Schroder Sticking Around?
After scoring double-digits just twice over Boston’s first nine games this season, Smart has now scored 13-plus points in four of his last seven outings and has shot 48.8% from the field over the C’s last five wins. As for Schroder, the “one-year flyer” is making a case for Boston to bank on him long-term.
“I did talk to Schroder recently about a potential long-term future with the Celtics, and I think there might be some interest on both sides there,” said Mass Live’s Brian Robb on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “The Adam Jones Show.”
Schroder has been a revelation for the Celtics this season, especially in Brown’s absence where he’s averaged 23.1 points over the last eight games.
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