New York Knicks

New York Knicks Receive: Kemba Walker ($34.3M 2020-21 Salary), Romeo Langford ($3.6M), BOS 2021 2nd Round Pick

Boston Celtics Receive: Julius Randle ($18.9M), Frank Ntilikina ($6.1M), Kevin Knox ($4.5M), NYK 2022 1st Round Pick (Top 5 Protected), NYK 2024 1st Round Pick (Top 5 Protected)

The New York Knicks have been a team trying to make a big move every single offseason, but have not been able to pull anything off over the years. With new management in place and a new, positive vibe within the Knicks organization, things may finally be falling their way and acquiring Kemba Walker could be a significant move for the future of this organization. Kemba Walker is still in the midst of his prime and bringing him to the Knicks could open the gates for more All-Star players to want to come and play in New York. 

The Knicks have an abundance of guards on their roster and giving up Frank Ntilikina would not bother them. They have been trying to move Ntilikina this offseason, as he never developed into what they wanted him to be, but he still has a lot of potential for any chance willing to work with him. With the Boston Celtics, the young french point guard could learn things from both Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague to become a great rotational player for the Celtics for years to come. 

Adding Julius Randle and Kevin Knox could also prove useful for the Celtics this upcoming season. Boston definitely needs help at the power-forward position and Randle is coming off a stellar season. He averaged 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season with the Knicks while shooting 46.0% from the floor. Having a reliable scoring option the Celtics could go to in the post is something they have not had over the years and could open up this offense. 

Now, this trade looks like it would hurt the Celtics’ chances at winning the NBA Finals, but acquiring these two first-round picks could help them pursue a better option than Kemba Walker. Boston would have six first-round picks over the next four years and could easily package two or three of these together to acquire a different All-Star guard. 

This trade is definitely more focused on the Knicks and their needs as an organization, but is an option for Boston if they want to move Kemba’s contract now and get some assets in return. The big part of this trade for the Celtics is getting Randle and two first-round picks, which they could package together in a different trade. If the Celtics want to move Kemba Walker this offseason, there is a market for him, but it is expected that they will hold onto the All-Star point guard for at least another season. Boston was on the verge of making the NBA Finals last year and should be one of the favorites to make it there this year.