Sources: Walker, Celtics to finalize deal Sunday
Kemba Walker plans to be in Boston on Sunday to finalize a formal agreement for a four-year, $141 million deal with the Celtics, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.
The Celtics have targeted Walker, 29, as the No. 1 priority in free agency and an elite replacement for the departing Kyrie Irving, sources said.
NBA free agents can begin negotiating agreements with teams at 6 p.m. ET Sunday. Contracts can be officially signed July 6.
Walker is coming off his best season as a pro during his eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, averaging 25.6 points while playing in all 82 regular-season games.
After a season of locker room turmoil often centered around Irving’s discontent, the Celtics crave the stability and leadership that Walker will provide — along with being an All-Star talent in the prime of his career.
Boston can renounce the rights to restricted free agent Terry Rozier to clear the space to start Walker on a four-year deal beginning at $32 million annually.
Walker can plug into a Celtics lineup that includes Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown. Boston can still pursue a center with its $4.8 million exception and deliver at the start of the season a team that could be competitive in the Eastern Conference.
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Charlotte, meanwhile, has declined to exercise its qualifying offer on Frank Kaminsky, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent amid significant interest, a league source told ESPN.
The Hornets have been scouring the free-agent point guard market, considering such options as Elfrid Payton, T.J. McConnell, Ish Smith and Emmanuel Mudiay, league sources told ESPN.
Walker won a national championship at UConn in 2011 and is a New York City native.