Kemba Walker, who was traded to the Thunder on Friday, had a “tension-filled” season with former coach and now president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Multiple team sources tell Weiss there was dysfunction in the Celtics‘ locker room and Stevens was seen as being tougher with Walker than other players. Weiss adds that after Gordon Hayward left to sign with the Hornets, he told Stevens that he needed to take a more forceful stance with players for the team to be successful.
Stevens became harder on several players, including Walker, who he frequently criticized for errors on defense. Walker and Stevens often argued, sources add, but they maintained a working relationship and respect for each other.
According to multiple sources, Walker, who signed with Boston two years ago in free agency, became angry about the team’s disappointing season and boos directed at him by Celtics fans. He began talking privately about moving to another team and was willing to accept a trade.
There’s more on the Celtics, all from Weiss:
- Trading Walker was a first step toward keeping free-agent guard Evan Fournier and young center Robert Williams, who is eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer. The Celtics hope to bring back Fournier on a long-term deal while creating only a modest tax bill. The trade will also make it easier to add a maximum salary slot for 2022 free agency, as Al Horford’s contract has just a $14 million guarantee in its final season.
- Multiple sources said several players were hoping for a coaching change, believing Stevens didn’t hold some of his star players accountable. There was also frustration with the coach’s “college offense” and complaints that players would get stuck in isolation. There seems to be a preference in the locker room for a Black coach with NBA playing experience, and Chauncey Billups, Ime Udoka and Darvin Ham are among the candidates being given second interviews.
- Marcus Smart stands to inherit the starting point-guard role and will hope to re-establish a culture of accountability on defense that he built along with Horford, who returns to the Celtics in the Walker trade. Teammates often ignored Smart after Horford left, according to sources, which led to his confrontation with Jaylen Brown after Game 2 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals.
- After Blake Griffin‘s buyout with the Pistons, he asked a Celtics player about joining the team and was told there was too much dysfunction.
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