Feb 24, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Al Horford (42) runs past San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) to celebrate with forward Luguentz Dort (5) who made the game winning basket during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 102-99. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Reactions poured in over the big Celtics-Thunder Kemba Walker trade, and both Al Horford and Sam Presti are the talk of NBA Twitter
Brad Stevens and the Celtics didn’t waste much time getting started on an NBA offseason plan. Boston traded Kemba Walker on Friday to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that was way too big and deep for all of us to try to unpack that early in the morning.
Among the moving pieces in the package that are worth talking about:
- Kemba Walker is gone
- Al Horford has made a stunning return to Boston
- The Celtics saved money and can now add a third star a lot easier
- Sam Presti is back on his B.S.
It’s hard to rank which of those things is the most impressive thing about this deal, as it’s truly the type of #content we all strive for yet rarely see.
Presti has made a career out of making Oklahoma City a pit stop before a star is traded for a first round pick (and usually another star who is then traded for another first round pick). It’s like the infamous Process in Philly, except Presti has it on repeat.
Aside from the Presti element at play, the reactions to everything in the Celtics-Thunder trade were golden.
Al Horford trade back to Celtics had everyone losing their minds
For starters, Al Horford appeared to be a big winner.
Horford returning to Boston seems to be the most universally liked part of the deal. The star big man bounced back with the Thunder after a rough stint following his exit from Boston, but has returned to not only bring a veteran presence to a locker room that will have a new head coach, but allows the Celtics to have options when it comes to what they do with their moves in free agency.
The Kemba Walker contract was a big talking point
And of course, how can we have reactions about a Sam Presti-involved trade without kicking back and enjoying everyone look on in awe as he collects more first-round picks like Seinfeld collects vintage cars.
Presti needs to eventually turn all of this into wins, which has yet to happen for the Thunder. But if nothing else the man has a brand and he’ll be damned if he’s not going to stick to it at every opportunity to do so.