Kemba Walker’s knees casts doubt on his future

https://www.celticsblog.com/2020/11/2/21541784/kemba-walkers-knees-pose-unanswered-questions-for-the-boston-celtics



Kemba Walker’s knees casts doubt on his future



Will Walker see out his contract in Boston?


By AdamTaylorNBA@AdamTaylorNBA  

Nov 2, 2020, 10:00am EST




Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images



Kemba Walker began his first season in Boston as a carnivore, chewing up defenses and preying on off-balanced defenders. By the end of the bubble, he finished a vegan. No, we’re not talking about his dietary habits, but rather his style of play.

Walker has a proven track record of beating defenses with whirlwind speed, a tight handle, and deadeye accuracy from deep. All of those attributes were on display during his pre-All-Star season, and then the knee troubles began to surface.

Missing six of the subsequent ten games before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season, Walker looked a shadow of his former self. Despite the long hiatus of the NBA season, Walker entered the NBA bubble, still hampered by those same issues.

At 6’0”, Walker heavily relies on his change of pace to be a significant force when peeling off screens. Yet during the playoffs, that burst of speed was consigned to memory. Instead, Walker played tentative, unable to utilize his greatest assets to break down zone defenses and punish Toronto’s box-and-one.

Despite the UConn alum’s veteran status within the league, Walker’s inexperience in the playoffs became apparent, his performances littered with inconsistencies. That patchy level of play poses the question: were Walker’s struggles caused by a new level of intensity or because his knee was buckling under the physical toll of the playoffs?

Danny Ainge provided his thoughts following the team’s conference finals exit.

“I could tell he wasn’t the same, physically, as he was in October, November, and December.”

Keith Smith
@KeithSmithNBA
Danny Ainge on Kemba Walker's health: "We will have a full plan for Kemba in the offseason in the next week or two weeks, regardless of what the medical tests come back with. There is no surgery needed, as far as I know. I could see he was definitely not himself."
7:12 AM · Oct 1, 2020



Should alarm bells be ringing?

Walker will be entering his age-31 season once the league resume’s play this winter. Having carried an enormous workload during his time with the Charlotte Hornets, perhaps his body is beginning to show signs of wear and tear.


Kemba Walker career usage rates Cleaning The Glass


Concerns over Walker’s long-term health become elevated further when factoring in his cap hit for the next three years. Occupying a max salary slot, the Bronx native’s presence on the roster is only valuable if he channels his inner “Kardiac Kemba.” Otherwise, he’s a very costly under-sized point guard.

A reasonable assumption is that Walker’s minutes will be closely managed during the regular season to ensure he’s fit and healthy when the playoffs roll around. But what if, in the ensuing seasons, Walker’s knees can’t sustain playing a game every two days? Is he still worth his contract at that point? Can he be the lead point guard on potentially multiple championships runs to keep Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown happy in Boston?

It begins with obtaining an upgrade at the back-up point-guard position, allowing the team to navigate Walker’s almost unavoidable strategic absences during the regular season. What follows is allowing Walker further opportunities to work off-ball, which will alleviate some of his knees’ pressure.

Both of these adjustments will increase Walker’s longevity and viability once the post-season gets underway. The issue is, it takes a considerable amount of maneuvering to keep an aging guard on a max deal fresh.


Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images


For now, Walker still fits the bill as the Celtics starting point guard, but his long-term fit on this roster is becoming increasingly murky. With so many talented young guards now making their presence felt around the league and more inevitably to enter the fray via the draft in the coming seasons, Walker’s residence on this roster will ultimately need to be re-assessed.

While this may seem unfathomable at the moment, Walker’s contract places certain expectations on his performance levels, and with the Celtics cap situation a significant point of discussion over the next couple of seasons, Walker may be the piece that gets sacrificed at some point.

On a more positive note, Walker may put his knee concerns behind him, and with new experiences of the playoffs under his belt, raise his game to new heights. Yet, at almost 31-years-old, this notion feels like a pipe dream.

Regardless of the length of his tenure in Boston, Walker’s impact off the court has been a resounding success. He brought back the feel good factor to the Celtics and apparently helped the young core move past the turbulent 2018-19 season that was rife with locker room issues.

However, Walker’s contract places certain expectations on his performance levels, and with the Celtics cap situation a significant point of discussion over the next couple of seasons, Walker may be the piece that gets sacrificed. We will know more once the new season is underway, and we can see firsthand how Walker bounces back from an uninspiring postseason.


Bob
MY NOTE:  The concerning part, for me, is that his knees had to be coddled despite having months off due to COVID and, as we all saw and is now being confirmed by Danny, that still wasn't enough to bring him up to par.  If all that time off wasn't enough for Kemba's knees then what can we expect by a Christmas Opening Day?  This has a major, major impact on this team because if he's not 100% then moving Hayward isn't smart and if Danny moves Kemba, rather than Hayward, then who's our starting point guard?  There's been talk about proposed trades for CP3, which I do not believe, but he's already 35 freaking years old!  Kemba for whom?  Westbrook?  The NBA trade machine says this is a successful trade, straight up.  Draft a point guard?  That kid, whomever they are, won't be ready for 3-4 years like Marcus Smart wasn't ready to run an offense well for 4 years.  That would mean keeping Wanny for more than one year, to provide coherent veteran point guard leadership off the bench.  Is that what we want?  Are you feeling my concerns about the ripple effect that emanates from the uncertainty regarding one of our starters (and All-Star)?  Personally, I think the question marks surrounding Kemba's knees are far more worrisome than whether Gordon gets traded or if Theis can handle Bam.  I think the question marks around Kemba are more serious than the question of whether Gordon will ever get back to All-Star level play, because we have depth at Gordon's position and we don't at Kemba's.  To be honest and brutally blunt, the only thing about this team that scares me more than this would be if Tatum didn't resign with the Celtics.  I have a high, high level of confidence that he will, I'm not worried about that and I don't think you should be either, but that's how high up on the Holy Shit-o-meter I place this.  It's exceeded only by a meltdown of Fukushiman proportions.


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Bob,

you already showed the trade that brings back an all-star point guard,about two weeks ago in the trade thread.

I'll copy it here for your pleasure.

Deal #1

CELTICS GET
DAMIAN LILLARD
JUSUF NURKIC
TREVOR ARIZA
RODNEY HOOD


TRAIL BLAZERS GET
KEMBA WALKER
GORDON HAYWARD
2020 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FIRST-ROUND PICK
2021 BOSTON CELTICS FIRST-ROUND PICK

there ya go.

kdp59 wrote:Bob,

you already showed the trade that brings back an all-star point guard,about two weeks ago in the trade thread.

I'll copy it here for your pleasure.

Deal #1

CELTICS GET
DAMIAN LILLARD
JUSUF NURKIC
TREVOR ARIZA
RODNEY HOOD


TRAIL BLAZERS GET
KEMBA WALKER
GORDON HAYWARD
2020 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FIRST-ROUND PICK
2021 BOSTON CELTICS FIRST-ROUND PICK

there ya go.

I don't see any way Portland goes for that one in my opinion, but I would jump at it in a heartbeat.

But 4 players, at least 3 of which are still capable of higher tier play, for 2 wounded ducks and two future maybes? And the '21 C's 1st pick is likely to be 28 or worse? No Way.

Make that swap a reality and I personally call Danny and volunteer to climb into the rafters and get the spot ready for the new banner in '21.

kdp59 wrote:Bob,

you already showed the trade that brings back an all-star point guard,about two weeks ago in the trade thread.

I'll copy it here for your pleasure.

Deal #1

CELTICS GET
DAMIAN LILLARD
JUSUF NURKIC
TREVOR ARIZA
RODNEY HOOD


TRAIL BLAZERS GET
KEMBA WALKER
GORDON HAYWARD
2020 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FIRST-ROUND PICK
2021 BOSTON CELTICS FIRST-ROUND PICK

there ya go.

kdp,


Nothing against Kemba or Gordon but I'd do this deal in a NY second.  Lillard is almost unstoppable on a team that doesn't have anywhere near the talent we do.  Nurkic is a replacement for Kanter.  And, according to a trade machine, this trade is successful monetarily.

Cut Ariza, keep Hood for our bench shooter, Nurkic replaces Kanter as our beast off the bench and Lillard is pocket nitroglycerin.

Hood has a player option.  If he opts in we have him, if he opts out they can do a sign-and-trade as long as the numbers work.  I realize S&Ts are hard but they can be done, especially if the player is willing and I'll bet Hood would love to be our Lou Williams.

This trade fixes our Kemba knee concerns.  It fixes our BIG problem, especially if Kanter leaves.  It fixes our bench scoring problem and it even gives us a veteran, WORLD CHAMPION 3-and-D guy if we choose to keep him.

https://tradenba.com/trade-machine


Bob


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Nobody outside of Celtics fans would make this trade.
Lillard is a top 10 player.
With Kemba’s knee issue and his max contract, he probably has little trade value.
Rodney Hood will be opting in since he tore achilles less than a year ago and would probably only get a minimum contract this offseason if he was an unrestricted free agent.
If GS offered Wiggins and the #2 pick for Lillard, Portland would laugh at them.
Top 10 players aren’t traded often and when they are, they get quite a haul.
Look at what the Clippers received for PG13 who is nowhere near the player Lillard is.

dboss wrote:Bob

The knees have been discussed by me numerous times.  I am sure board members think I'm nuts.  

The Celtics do not need another BU point guard.  What they need to do is to draft a PG for the future.  They need to draft high end talent that can be groomed to replace Walker.  You are not getting a starting center at #14 but you can find a future starting PG at 14.  

Maybe Danny should draft a point guard early and a center like Stewart at #26.  I think he may be gone before #30.  But Boston could also use #47 and 26# to move up a pick or maybe 2 if needed or even package 26 and 30 to move up a few pegs.

I think free agency (MLE) can be used to add a veteran shooter.

The Celtics may not be able to get it all done this year.  Yet they can still bring about improvement in the roster.

The big unknown for Boston as of today remains GH  because we do not know if he stays or leaves.  It is his choice.  Kemba on the other hand has 3 years remaining on a max deal and he is a risk in terms of health.  

I maintain that Danny Ainge made a mistake by signing Walker because of his knee issues and because he would eat up a large part of the CAP.  

The future is unknown but it is a safe bet that Walker will have to be managed and that his recovery time could increase.  His situation is likely to deteriorate over time.  

Looking at this draft, it seems like the best value at 14 is at the PG/G position (Cole Anthony, Kira Lewis, RJ Hampton, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrell Terry). Picking someone with the idea of easing the burden of minutes from Walker, adding some extra scoring/shooting and potentially replacing him does make sense at the pick.

I would fire the GM of the Blazers in a NY second if he proposed a deal like this to me....if I was the owner

hey before anyone tars and feathers me here...I want to remind you all that Bob was the one that originally posted this non-probable trade...hows that for throwing you under the bus with me !!!

here is the link for the article:

https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2020/10/09/boston-celtics-2-kemba-walker-deals/2/

Kobe went to Europe for PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy for his knee. Kemba should too. It takes about 6 weeks+ to take effect. Strengthens ligaments and perhaps even helps cartilage grow. I have a colleague who treated a top exec of PEMEX, Mexico's largest state run oil company, for degenerated knee cartilage with PRP. I personally saw the before and after x-rays, and there was clearly more space in the joints between the bones. The patient, a 300 lb. man, felt much better, and had no trouble ambulating afterwards.He could afford any type of medical care. So can Kemba. Just a thought.

kdp59 wrote:hey before anyone tars and feathers me here...I want to remind you all that Bob was the one that originally posted this non-probable trade...hows that for throwing you under the bus with me !!!

here is the link for the article:

https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2020/10/09/boston-celtics-2-kemba-walker-deals/2/

kdp,

"Shooting the messenger" is a time-honored tradition, as is "throwing people under the bus".


Bob


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