Well New Orleans is pretty much out of the playoff race in the Western Conference while Boston is falling down the Eastern Conference standings and hoping the Bulls don’t catch fire the rest of the way. The Kemba Walker experiment has been a disappointment so far in Boston, it seemed like Kemba,Jaylen, and Jayson were developing a brotherhood but they just don’t seem to click on the court as much as much as they do off the floor which leads me to believe the Celtics need to move Kemba Walker in a trade which would bring over Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams to Boston.
I scope the NBA and there is not a better fit for Kemba Walker than the New Orleans Pelicans. Reason being the Celtics and Pelicans are complete opposites as Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are well known for their passing abilities while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are known for their ability to score the ball. There have been rumblings in Boston that the reason for their struggles is due to Brown and Tatum’s inability to create easier opportunities for their teammates which could be a reason the Celtics bench never seems to produce any offense. Throw in Kemba Walker who has a shoot first mentality only in a point guard’s body and you have a recipe for disaster.
I believe Kemba Walker would flourish on the New Orleans Pelicans because with Zion and Brandon controlling the bulk of the offense Kemba would just be tasked with providing the floor spacing the Pelicans have lacked all season. Kemba Walker can easily play an off the ball role and serve as a catch and shoot threat for the Pelicans while allowing Ingram and Williamson to take full control of the offense. At the moment the Pelicans are a mess on offense because Lonzo Ball can’t play to his strengths and control the offense because Zion and Brandon both also need the ball to be effective, on top of that Lonzo shares the ball with combo guard Bledsoe who also needs isolation opportunities.
Lonzo Ball would improve the Boston Celtics stagnant offense allowing Tatum and Brown to focus on doing what they do best which is score the basketball. Not to mention Lonzo Balk aiding Marcus Smart would give the Celtics 2 of the top perimeter defenders in the game. Steven Adams would’ve been a solid addition for the Pelicans but being that he has no perimeter shooting around him he pretty much clogs the lane for the Pelicans and Zion isn’t opening up the paint for him either since he gets the bulk of his scoring close to the basket. Not sure if Adams takes Thompson’s spot in the Celtics starting lineup but he would definitely fix the lack of size issue and shore up their rebounding issues.
To conclude both the Celtics and Pelicans must make changes by the trade deadline. For the Pelicans trading for Kemba Walker would be about seeing how he fits with Ingram and Williamson going into next season and for the Celtics plugging in Lonzo in place of Kemba could be a move that could shake up the Eastern Conference the rest of the way because Lonzo Ball could be unleashed under Brad Stevens and it could be the perfect pairing. Maybe Brad Stevens being the first coach to give Lonzo Ball the keys to the offense in his NBA career could spell a full fledged breakout for the former #2 overall pick. Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens should go back and watch some UCLA tape when Lonzo transformed their program and looked like the second coming of Jason Kidd, maybe that will get Danny Ainge on speed dial with David Griffin, till next time.
D-NBA 