Kemba Walker soon could be tasked with turning the Celtics around, but Stephen A. Smith believes we should temper expectations for the star point guard should he be dealt to Boston.
The Celtics reportedly have emerged as the front-runner to sign Walker who effectively would replace Kyrie Irving as Boston’s starting point guard. Irving’s tenure with the C’s will go down as a forgettable one, as the 27-year-old dealt with quite a bit of frustration as the green failed to meet high expectations. Irving was painted as the source of the Celtics’ issues last season, but should we be so sure his expected exit will immediately right the ship in Boston?
Smith on Wednesday threw some cold water on the hype of Walker potentially joining the Celtics. While the “First Take” co-host is a fan of Walker’s game, it doesn’t sound like he believes the UConn product will be any sort of upgrade from Irving in Boston.
“Let me say this to you: Do you know in the eight years Kemba Walker’s been in the league he has never shot better than 44 percent from the field? Kyrie Irving the last three years has shot a minimum of 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range. Kyrie Irving is a better offensive player. Let’s just call it what it is,” Smith said. “This is the reason why I’m not so sure that Kemba Walker — the Celtics are better off with him than Kyrie because how do we know that Kyrie Irving is the real problem or was the real problem? How do we not know it wasn’t Danny Ainge? How do we not know it wasn’t Brad Stevens? How do we not know it wasn’t Brad Stevens’ relationship with Gordon Hayward and how that rubbed some folks the wrong way?”
Smith continued: “What I’m saying is when you look at it from that perspective, you’ve got to take into account the possibility, the likelihood that Kyrie wasn’t the problem. Kyrie was a symptom, but Kyrie wasn’t the problem. There were other things that were going on with the Boston Celtics, so how does that change because Kemba Walker gets there? You know, Kemba Walker might come there a year later, you might lose Kyrie, you might lose (Al) Horford, you might lose (Marcus) Morris. OK, so the situation and the circumstances may be different, but that doesn’t mean that Kemba Walker, the Celtics would be better off with him than Kyrie because Kyrie would have been in a completely different situation. That’s where I’m coming from with that.”
There’s no denying Irving is a better player than Walker, but sometimes fit can supersede talent when it comes to overall team success. Walker’s playing style and demeanor are tailor-made for Boston, and he’d be a breath of fresh air for the franchise after what transpired last season. Walker’s presence alone won’t completely fix all of the Celtics’ issues, but it would be a step in the right direction.
