NBA rumors: Kemba Walker and the Boston Celtics headed for a breakup

Things haven’t gone as planned for Kemba Walker and the Boston Celtics, so the two sides are ready to part company.

After a quick exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics are into an offseason of big changes. Along with coach Brad Stevens replacing Danny Ainge to lead the front office, the future of guard Kemba Walker has been a point of speculation.

According to Bleacher Report’s Farbod Esnaashari, the Celtics and Walker are likely to move forward from their relationship this offseason in a mutual agreement between the parties. That’s a long-winded way to say the Celtics and Walker want to part ways, or breakup in more direct terms.

Walker missed the last two games of the Nets series due to a lingering knee injury. In the three games he did play, he shot just 31.7 percent from the floor (13-for-41, 3-for-17 from 3-point range). Trade rumors have surfaced around him at times, and according to Esnaashari Ainge’s effort to trade him last offseason caused a riff between Walker and Ainge.

Could the Celtics find a trade partner in a deal for Kemba Walker?

Walker is due to make $36 million next season, and he has a $37.7 million option for 2022-23. If his knee hadn’t been a problem dating back to last season’s bubble, that remaining money would be an issue in any effort to trade him. But the knee issue isn’t going to magically go away, putting Walker’s trade value at virtual rock-bottom right now.

That said, there will be and surely already are teams keeping an eye on the Celtics with interest in trading for Walker if he were available. The New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have the cap space, tradeable assets etc. to get Boston’s attention. Now, those teams (and others) can operate with the clear assumption the Celtics will engage in talks about a deal for Walker.

In the aftermath of Stevens replacing Ainge, the Celtics had two likely paths this offseason. Blow up the roster around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, or make some smaller tweaks and mostly bring the band back together. Trading Walker would be a biggest move in a path to blow it up.