The Boston Celtics went through a lot of changes in free agency as they lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. The Celticss brought in Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter to replace Irving and Horford, and are ready for a fresh start.
Walker got a No. 8 jersey while Kanter got Irving’s old number 11.
Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter are introduced for the first time as #Celtics pic.twitter.com/qc4kEF7WMe
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) July 17, 2019
“Throughout my career we just haven’t been consistent with winning,” Walker said. “I’m not saying that’s going to happen here, because I don’t know. I can’t see the future or anything like that, but I want to win. I want to be on a team that goes out and competes every night on a high level. Watching Boston over the years, man, that’s just what they’ve done. That’s what they’ve done. They’ve competed at a very high level each and every year, been in the playoffs every year, and I want to be a part of something like that. So that was kind of some of the things that went into my decision.”
Irving didn’t have the best of relationships with younger players during his stint with the Celtics, and Walker will surely try to develop better chemistry with young players. He already has a good relationship with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who will, alongside Gordon Hayward and Kanter, represent the core of this team next season. Walker is hopeful he and the rest of the squad will get along just fine.
“I think so,” Walker said. “I think so. I think my skills complement these guys. I love to get in the lane and I’m gonna have a lot of attention. That’ll definitely open up opportunities for other guys, but for the most part, I think I made my teammates better in other ways, just being a good teammate, wanting the best for those guys and pushing them as much as possible. It’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
