An offseason of major change continued for the Boston Celtics on Friday, trading star point guard Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Celtics agreed to trade Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in this year’s draft and a 2025 second-round pick to OKC for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick.
Walker was a massive free agent signing for the Celtics prior to the 2019-20 season, but he has had trouble staying healthy. He averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists per game in 43 games this season.
Horford, 35, spent three seasons with Boston from 2016-2019. He then signed with the Philadelphia 76ers rather than returning to the Celtics, and that move didn’t pan out for him. The big man was traded to Oklahoma City after just one season in Philly. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.
Brown, a second-year player out of UCLA, is a solid rebounder. He averaged 8.9 rebounds per game this season. The Celtics have struggled in that department in recent years.
Walker is still owed $108 million over the next three years, which is why the Celtics had to take on a contract like Horford’s to unload him. Walker never fit in with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown the way Boston had hoped, and a recent report revealed he wanted out.
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