Kemba Walker’s Players’ Tribune Piece Draws Danny Ainge’s Stamp Of Approval

Danny Ainge evidently enjoyed the piece Kemba Walker wrote for The Players’ Tribune. Walker explained his decision to leave the... Read More »

Danny Ainge evidently enjoyed the piece Kemba Walker wrote for The Players’ Tribune.

Walker explained his decision to leave the Charlotte Hornets and join the Boston Celtics in the article published July 1, and his move became official Saturday when the teams announced a sign-and-trade involving the three-time All-Star.

The Celtics marked the occasion this past weekend with several social media posts welcoming Walker to town, and Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, followed suit Sunday by quote-tweeting his new star point guard and complimenting the aforementioned Players’ Tribune piece.

Walker will replace Kyrie Irving, who joined the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. The Celtics also must overcome the loss of Al Horford, though, which figures to be a tall task despite Boston’s subsequent front-court additions.

It’ll be interesting to see how Walker meshes with Boston’s young core — namely Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — on the court, but the 29-year-old sure sounds motivated to help the Celtics return to prominence. Walker, who won a national title at the University of Connecticut in 2011, explained his leadership attributes in the Players’ Tribune piece while also making a declaration that probably caught Ainge’s attention: “I’m a winner. I’ve always been a winner.”