Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker (31) was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. ESPN announced the infobefore the Massachusetts franchise does not make it official. Walker thus leaves Boston, two years after his arrival. This season, he’s averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists per game. But his year was marred by a left knee injury that limited him to 43 regular season games.
Al Horford returns to Boston
The Celtics also gave the Thunder their 2021 first-round pick, as well as a 2025 second-round pick. In exchange, they received pivots Al Horford (35) and Moses Brown (21), plus a second-round pick. draft in 2023.
Horford will thus make his return to Boston, where he had already evolved from 2016 to 2019. Previously, he had spent his first nine NBA years in Atlanta. After his move to the Celtics, Al Horford had played a year in Philadelphia and therefore a year in Oklahoma City. This season, he averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, but played only 28 games. His team had left him aside in March, in order to give playing time to younger players, including Moses Brown.
The Thunder have three first rounds of the 2021 draft
Brown will experience a third team in as many NBA seasons. After wearing the colors of Portland, he joined Oklahoma City this year. Moses Brown played 43 games averaging 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds. This year, the Thunder finished 14th and second to last in the Western Conference.
Note that Oklahoma City now has three first rounds for the next NBA draft: its own, Boston’s and another ceded by Miami. The order of the first round of the draft will be determined next Tuesday.