NBA Rumors: Stephen Curry-For-Kemba Walker Trade ‘Would Be A No-Brainer’ For Celtics, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
Despite losing several key players last summer, the Boston Celtics and Kemba Walker have managed to surpass expectations in the 2019-20 NBA season. Before the league suspended due to the spread of coronavirus, the Celtics were sitting in the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 43-21 record. However, Celtics general manager and President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge isn’t expected to stay content in seeing his team as an average playoff contender.
When the season is over, Ainge and the Celtics are expected to find ways to build a roster that can legitimately contend for a championship title. According to Preston Ellis of Bleacher Report, the Celtics could engage in a blockbuster deal with the Golden State Warriors that would send Walker, the Memphis Grizzlies 2020 first-round pick, and their own 2020 first-round pick to the Bay Area in exchange for Stephen Curry. Though Walker is performing very well in his first season in Boston, Ellis believes that trading him for Curry “would be a no-brainer” for the Celtics.
“Meanwhile, the Celtics would be adding a first-ballot Hall of Famer to their core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward. Flipping Walker and two of their three first-round picks in this year’s draft for Curry would be a no-brainer, as they would emerge as the Milwaukee Bucks’ chief rival in the Eastern Conference if the 32-year-old returns to form following the wrist surgery that sidelined him for most of the 2019-20 season.”
Curry would undeniably give the Celtics a massive upgrade at the point guard position. Curry may have missed most of the 2019-20 season due to injury, but when he’s healthy, he would tremendously boost the Celtics’ performance on the offensive end of the floor. Being a team player, Curry isn’t likely to have a hard time building chemistry with the Celtics’ core of Tatum, Brown, Hayward, and Smart.
Meanwhile, as of now, there’s only a minimal chance that the Warriors would ever consider trading their best player, but if they do the unthinkable, Ellis thinks that acquiring an All-Star-caliber point guard and future draft picks in return wouldn’t be the “worst-case scenario” for Golden State. Though he isn’t in any way better than Curry, adding Walker to the core of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins would help the Warriors remain competitive in the Western Conference. The two future first-round selections would enable the Warriors to replenish their bench, while adding young and promising talents who could be part of their long-term future.
