Sam Presti thinks Kemba Walker trade is great for both teams

by **bobheckler** Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:02 pm

https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2021/06/30/sam-presti-thinks-kemba-walker-trade-is-great-for-both-teams/

Sam Presti thinks Kemba Walker trade is great for both teams

Logan Newman
June 30, 2021 10:08 am CT

In the 2020 offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder received a draft pick along with center Al Horford, whose value was at an all-time low following a disappointing season with the Philadelphia 76ers. They helped revive his value and traded him for a first-round draft pick and a new player whose value is the lowest its been since stepping into the NBA: Kemba Walker.

They’re hoping they can successfully run this process again, and general manager Sam Presti gave some insight on how the trade with the Boston Celtics came together during a June press conference.

“The Celtics had some interest in Al. We’ve had a few different conversations,” Presti said. “When Brad (Stevens) assumed the role of running the front office, it was kind of a natural conversation that came up.”

Stevens coached Horford for three seasons, two of which the team got to the Eastern Conference Finals. They’ve struggled to find consistent big man play since Horford signed a big contract with the 76ers in free agency.

“It made a lot of sense for both teams. I think it’s a great trade for the Celtics, I think great for us. I think it’s a pretty simple deal, I don’t think it’s super complicated,” Presti said.

“Al has been awesome for us and I think he’s thrilled about being back in Boston, so I’m glad that it worked for everybody.

Presti called Walker a high-character athlete and said that the scouting department has heard consistently positive things about the point guard.

Oklahoma City hopes the 31-year-old can begin playing like an All-Star again, and the organization received yet another first-round pick.

“The 16th pick in any draft is really, really hard to get ahold of, and getting a player like Walker, who like I said before, shot creation is at a big premium … so it just makes sense for us,” Presti said.

Bob
MY NOTE: I'm still happy about this trade. We needed a 4. Al's a 4, and Kemba isn't. We needed someone who could facilitate the offense and not just be the offense. That's Al, and not Kemba. We've been calling for a big-man coach. That's Al, and not Kemba (not that Kemba was a bad influence, but he's not going to teach RWill and Moses new big man tricks). When you add in that Kemba has had knee issues and the shelf life for an undersized guard in the NBA isn't deep into their 30's (CP3 being an obvious outlier) while Al has been healthy for his career and even got a lot of rest on his body last year then I'm feeling even better about it. And I don't care about, nor for, another mid-first round pick.

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by **RosalieTCeltics** Thu Jul 01, 2021 5:24 pm

I was a Kemba fan from beginning, and feel he got much too much criticism for the failure of this team last year. There is no doubt his injury record this past year plus has hindered his impact on the game. For the first half of his first year here he was terrific, all star status. But this is where it all went wrong. He was injured before the all star game and rested for a few games before. Then he played 30 minutes of real action in that game. After that, he ended up on the shelf, unable to contribute during this time. Then, bang, Covid hit, he was sent home to rest and rehab himself.
When the games finally resumed, he just was not the same guy we had seen in the first half of the season Then the bubble, in and out of the lineup. The Celtics struggled in that final series against Miami, he was not himself, one game in, one game out. They get booted out of the bubble, and we hope.......maybe with this time off, he will get treatment or whatever and finaly return to the lineup. It is reported he had stem cell surgery, and needed time to work his way back in. No back to backs in a schedule loaded with game after game. I still hoped, a couple of excellent games got me thinking, hey, he is back. No, he ended the season sitting on the bench. On top of all of this, Tatum had no one to help him carry the load.
This team could not go thru another season like this. It had nothing to do with liking or disliking Kemba. We needed a good point guard to help distribute the ball and help Jaylen and Jason take another step.
So this move was a necessity, and we got some financial relief besides getting Al Horford, who will be a tremendous help in teaching RWII and Brown.

I will always say "what if" when it comes to Kemba. It was a move that looked so good when it happened, so many other teams wanted him. He was a terrific teammate, a great guy all around, but it just was not to be, sad but tru

Sam Presti thinks Kemba Walker trade is great for both teams

Sam Presti thinks Kemba Walker trade is great for both teams

Re: Sam Presti thinks Kemba Walker trade is great for both teams