Report: Kemba Walker, Celtics Looking To Part Ways This Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics and Kemba Walker are heading to a divorce. The Celtics looked to trade the high-priced point guard last summer, which did not sit well with Walker.
Now, according to Farbod Esnaashari of Bleacher Report, Walker is the one looking to break up with the Celtics, though the feeling appears to be mutual. Walker no longer feels wanted in Boston after Danny Ainge tried to trade him last offseason, reportedly in an effort to clear cap space for a Jrue Holiday trade.
And although Brad Stevens is now in charge of the Celtics as the president of basketball ops., Walker still wants out of Boston.
Trading Walker won't be easy, and Esnaashari reports that the 31-year-old wants to head to a "winning situation." Walker is set to make $36 million next season, and he has a player option for $37.7 million in 2022-23, so Stevens will likely have to include a first-round pick or other assets to rid Boston of that contract -- or take on an equally bad contract in exchange.
Good luck with all of that.
Walker worked his way back from a knee injury throughout the 2021 season, and averaged 19.3 points off 42 percent shooting over 42 games. He sat out the second leg of back-to-backs throughout the year, but still wasn't at full strength when the postseason arrived. Walker played in just three of Boston's games during the team's first-round matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging just 12.7 points off 32 percent shooting, and missed the final two games of the series with a bone bruise in his left knee.