It seems like the Boston Celtics’ pursuit of Kemba Walker is gaining steam.
Like, a lot of steam.
On Thursday morning, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported there was a “sizable gap” between Walker and the Charlotte Hornets in their contract negotiations. Moments later, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Celtics had emerged as the frontrunner to sign the star point guard once free agency opens Sunday evening.
Wojnarowski appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up!” a few minutes later and shed a little more light on what appears to be mutual interest on both sides.
“When free agency opens on Sunday night, the Celtics have emerged as a strong frontrunner to sign Kemba Walker from the Charlotte Hornets,” Wojnarowski said. “Boston can continue to clear some cap space, they could renounce Terry Rozier, create a number that gets up to Kemba Walker’s max. But right now, Boston and Kemba Walker are focused on each other and there’s a very strong possibility that Kemba Walker will replace Kyrie Irving as the point guard, as a centerpiece in Boston.”
With Irving all but out the door, as Woj alluded to, the Celtics had a pretty glaring need for a new point guard. Suffice to say landing Walker would fill that void in a big way.