The Boston Celtics future almost took a dramatic turn in trying to replacing Kyrie Irving last offseason. Celtics star point guard Kemba Walker revealed on The Ringer’s “R2C2” podcast that he almost picked playing for the Knicks rather than the Celtics when he was a free agent in 2019.
“To be honest, yes. Yes. Very serious, very,” Walker said when he was asked if he seriously considered playing for the Knicks. “At one point – yes, very serious.”
Was there ever a chance @KembaWalker would play for the Knicks?
Yes! He explains what happened to @CC_Sabathia and @RyanRuocco on the @R2C2 podcast. pic.twitter.com/U82fUFFul4
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 6, 2020
He revealed that “The Knicks were definitely a priority at one point,” but New York’s failure to lure a co-star is what eventually pushed him to Boston. “Before Boston actually came along, the Knicks were one of my top priorities because I was thinking that they were gonna get another player,” Walker said. “But it didn’t work out.”
Walker wound up signing with Boston. Despite his New York heritage, the decision was undoubtedly the correct one. Boston is in line for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. They’ll be contenders for years to come behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. New York’s future is far less certain. They haven’t made the playoffs in six years, and no future free agency coups appear imminent. Walker spent the first eight seasons of his career losing in Charlotte. He deserved to play for a winner, and he has and Boston is better off for it.