NBA Trade News: Celtics Find Kemba Walker Replacement, Thompson Moves To Sacramento

The Boston Celtics may have resolved their problem at the point guard position after a three-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings that centered around Tristan Thompson and Kris Dunn.

In the deal, the Celtics will send Thompson to the Sacramento Kings, while the Kings will send Delon Wright to the Atlanta Hawks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. The Hawks will send Dunn, Bruno Fernando and a 2023 second-round pick to the Celtics.

The move would be a sigh of relief for the Celtics, which will get an additional $3 million breathing room below the luxury tax.

Landing Dunn addresses a notable void in the Celtics backcourt following the exit of Kemba Walker. It will be recalled that Boston sent the 31-year-old guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June. The Celtics reunited with veteran big man Al Horford plus Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick from the Thunder in that deal.

Dunn is no stranger to the Celtics as he is a player fans wanted Boston to pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Celtics ended up taking in Jaylen Brown, who has proven to be the right choice.

The 6-foot-3 Dunn has not exactly had the same luck, struggling with injuries last season. He only played four games for the Hawks last year after being sidelined by an ankle injury.

But when healthy, Dunn has proven to be a gem in defense. With the 27-year-old cager’s arrival, the Celtics will now have another guard to turn to aside from Marcus Smart.

As for Thompson, this would be the first time that he has been traded in his NBA career. There was already word that he would be traded by the Celtics earlier this year, but no deal went down before the March 25 trade deadline, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported.

Thompson failed to make an impact with the Celtics after spending most of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The one-time NBA champion showed a dip in numbers last season, managing only 7.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 54 games.

With Horford back in Boston, trading Thompson seemed imminent. The 35-year-old is no stranger to the Celtics community, although his fit will depend on how well he can get along with new head coach Ime Udoka. The Nigerian-American was named the Celtics' new head coach in June.