Kemba Walker undoubtedly would make the Celtics stronger, but one of Boston’s Eastern Conference rivals was happy to hear of its pursuit of the star point guard.
The Celtics reportedly have emerged as the front-runner for Walker and might even have a commitment from the three-time All-Star by Sunday night. This reportedly came as great news to the Milwaukee Bucks, whose efforts to re-sign restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon effectively will be made easier now that Boston appears locked in on Walker. In fact, the Bucks allegedly “breathed a sigh of relief” upon learning of the Celtics’ push for Walker.
“I think Milwaukee has a number that’s too high for them,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently said on the “JJ Redick Podcast,” as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “They’re sitting there getting scared about where that number’s going to come from. And they breathed a sigh of relief today when Boston emerged as the front-runners for Kemba Walker, which I think is real and not fake. I don’t think that’s Kemba Walker’s agent trying to leverage Charlotte into a bigger offer.”
It’s not surprising re-signing Brogdon is a priority for Milwaukee, which has two other key free agents this summer in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. All three were integral pieces of the Bucks’ successful 2018-19 campaign and each is expected to have strong markets in the coming weeks. We’ll probably never know how strong of a run the Celtics would have made at Brogdon, but desperation in Boston certainly could have grown if (when) Kyrie Irving signed elsewhere and Walker re-upped in Charlotte.
Brogdon probably would have been a fine fit in Brad Stevens’ system, too. But we have a feeling the Celtics will be more than content if they’re able to sign one of the league’s premier point guards.
