Kemba Walker Reveals That The Boston Celtics Were Not His First Priority In The 2019 Free Agency

The Boston Celtics made a big move in the 2019 Off-Season. As Kyrie Irving left, the Celtics brought in three-time All-Star Kemba Walker to fill in the void left by Irving. Since arriving, Walker has been a breath of fresh air after all the rumors surrounding the toxicity Irving brought to the Celtics locker room. But Walker recently revealed that Boston wasn’t his first priority in Free Agency.

Walker made an appearance on the R2C2 podcast hosted by CC Sabathia and Ryan Ruocco. Walker was asked if the New York Knicks were a serious consideration for him in Free Agency.

“To be honest, yes. Very serious, very,” Walker said. “Before Boston actually came along, the Knicks were one of my top priorities, actually, because I was thinking they were gonna get another player. But it didn’t work out.”

New York Knicks loss led to Boston Celtics gain

The Knicks had plans to bring in Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker. But in the end, nothing worked out for them. Walker arrived in Boston in a sign and trade deal that involved Terry Rozier going to the Hornets. After what could have been a supermax with the Hornets, he signed with the Celtics on a four-year, $140 million deal.

Walker spent eight seasons in Charlotte and made the playoffs just twice. But with the Celtics, making the playoffs is not the priority. Having a deep run and challenging for the title is.

So far, Walker has been a solid leader for the Celtics. His unselfish play has got the best out of both young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Both of them are having their career-best seasons and due to that, the Celtics have looked like a dangerous team in the Eastern Conference.

Currently, they are the third seed and look like they will cement their spot. If the current sixth seed 76ers don’t pick up their pace, we could in for a huge first-round matchup between these two teams. The Celtics have won just one out of their four games with the 76ers in the regular season and will have to improve massively if they are to beat them in a seven-game series.

They have a big game tonight, as they face the Toronto Raptors who are unbeaten in the bubble so far. They are in exceptional form after beating the Lakers and the Heat, so the Celtics will have to be on their toes and cannot afford to let their guard down.

Sources:

2019-20 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats

R2C2 on Twitter