The big news ahead of tonight's slate of games is the trade that sent Kemba Walker to OKC and Al Horford back to Boston. Pretty big move for Brad Stevens as his first real move as President of Basketball Ops. Kemba's contract was big and rumors around the league was that it would be a tough one to move. He was able to get it done, but at the expense of shipping Boston's 16th pick in the first round.
OKC now has a stockpile of draft picks including 18 first round picks between 2021 and 2027. That is ridiculous and I can confidently say I have never seen a team compile that many. The flexibility and trade leverage that this gives the Thunder is absurd. Ultimately, within the next few seasons I believe they will be able to turn the franchise around between the young core of Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander and the draft picks they can either choose to trade for veteran players, use them to draft, or even leverage trading multiple picks to move up and get "their guy".
As for Boston, I have to be honest, I am not looking forward to seeing Al Horford back in the Eastern Conference. Personally, I think he absolutely stinks at the game of basketball for a few reasons. 1) He has a hard time putting the ball in the basket. 2) Not very athletic. You put these two reasons together and it makes for a pretty poor basketball player. However, it seemed like he always had career games when he played against the Sixers. The Sixers were able to take all three games from the Celtics this season and it is very important moving forward that we not drop games against them. For some reason, I think Al being back in Boston will make this more difficult.
Comment below what your thoughts on the trade are!
