Kemba Walker appears bound for Boston, but there’s no guarantees in the NBA.
The Celtics reportedly are the front-runner to sign Walker, who reportedly could commit to the team as early as Sunday night when free agency officially opens. But in the event a bizarre change of pace arises, Boston apparently will have a back-up plan at the ready in the form of Malcolm Brogdon.
“With the Milwaukee Bucks facing a luxury-tax bill if they re-sign Khris Middleton, as they are expected to do, teams could challenge Milwaukee with a so-called toxic offer sheet for Brogdon,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst write. “League executives believe a team could construct an offer sheet with the highest salary next season and then descending payments combined with a player option and possible bonuses that the Bucks might have to pay, but a new team might not.
“The Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics (if they don’t land Kemba Walker), Phoenix Suns and Mavericks could consider an offer sheet for Brogdon and test the Bucks.”
Brogdon wouldn’t be the worst consolation prize if Walker slips through Boston’s fingers. The 2017 Rookie of the Year is coming off a career season in which he averaged 15.6 points per game and joined the league’s exclusive “50-40-90” club (field-goal, 3-point and free-throw percentage, respectively). The money the Celtics would need to extend in order to sign Brogdon is anyone’s guess, but it obviously would be less than the four-year, $141 deal they reportedly will offer Walker. This would allow Boston to bolster its backcourt while maintaining salary cap flexibility to address its other needs, such as a starting big man.
A Brogdon pursuit by the Celtics likely will be nothing more than a hypothetical, though. There appears to be league-wide belief that Walker will land in Boston, so much so that the Bucks reportedly “breathed a sigh of relief” knowing their efforts to re-sign Brogdon would be made easier by the Celtics’ push for the three-time All-Star.
