Kemba Walker says new teammates are ‘really good young dudes’

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/08/boston-celtics-kemba-walker-says-new-teammates-are-really-good-young-dudes.html




Boston Celtics Kemba Walker says new teammates are ‘really good young dudes’




Updated 12:36 PM; Today 12:15 PM




LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 06: Boston Celtics teammates Marcus Smart #40, Jaylen Brown #33, Jayson Tatum #34 and Kemba Walker #26 of the 2019 USA Men's National Team pose together during a practice session at the 2019 USA Basketball Men's National Team World Cup minicamp at the Mendenhall Center at UNLV on August 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com




One of the narratives that developed in the Boston Celtics locker room last season was the rift between younger players and Kyrie Irving. While it may have been overblown, there was definitely some tension between at least some of the younger players who had nearly made it to the NBA Finals the season before, and Irving after he singled them out for early troubles.

While we don’t know how this upcoming season will play out, new Celtic Kemba Walker doesn’t seem willing to go down that same path. He has been able to play with three of his new teammates, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, as part of the FIBA World Cup of Basketball training with the US Men’s National Basketball team.


“They’re just some really good young dudes and I just enjoy being around them,” Walker told NBA.com’s Sekou Smith after a practice in Los Angeles. “And the age difference is really crazy to me. J.T. is like 21 and J.B. is 22 and Marcus is 25. And I’m 29 and feeling like, wow, this is cool. It sounds crazy. I remember when I was 21 in this league. I was a rookie and just trying to figure it all out. And these guys are young vets already. Like I said, it’s crazy.”

It’s true that all three returning Celtics in this group have already seen a lot. Tatum has been on the verge of a Finals appearance and on the wrong end of a disappointing playoff elimination. Brown has had to adjust to new roles in all three of his seasons. Smart has grown into a locker room leader.

Walker walks into this situation clearly appreciative of an opportunity to play a higher level of basketball than he has in Charlotte. It’s a chance made possible, in part, by getting the most out of these three teammates. The chance to build this chemistry now helps them get a jump start on that process moving forward.



bob
MY NOTE: Anybody who thought all you need to win in this league is to accumulate talent didn't see last season. The Celtics with Kyrie and Rozier, the Rockets with Harden and Paul, the Lakers with LeBron and all those teammates he was begging to be traded just so he could get AD. You can look at the history books all you want and see how championship teams have All-NBA talent on them, and that's true, but that isn't enough.


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