When the Charlotte Hornets drafted point guard Kemba Walker in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft, the youngster walked into a very tough situation. The Bobcats would only win 7 games during Walker’s rookie season as they were the worst team in professional sports. But the losing never got the best of Walker as he would keep improving his game, and by 2014, the Bobcats would be playoff bound. Since then the Bobcats have changed their name to the Hornets, but they are currently staring at their second consecutive losing season as they’re 20-28. And because of that the Hornets could be ready to make some shocking moves.
Late last week the Hornets announced that they would explore the possibility of trading Walker. Obviously it is not a given that Walker will be traded, but if you pay close attention you can see the writing on the wall in Charlotte.
Walker is coming off of his best season in the NBA as he averaged 23.2 points per game en route to being an All-Star for the first time in his career. Walker appeared to be a building block for the Hornets, but things changed in Charlotte which could end his run with the team. The Hornets have always been a team that has been known to trade their star players, and if Walker is able to leave Charlotte, his career could be ready to go to the next level.
Walker is ready to become a household name because he is not afraid of playing on the big stage. Walker played three years collegiately for the Connecticut Huskies and he helped them reach a pair of Final Fours, along with winning the national championship in 2011. As a freshman, Walker was a valuable bench player for Connecticut which included him pouring in 23 points in the Huskies Elite Eight win over the Missouri Tigers which sent them to the Final Four. In 2011, Walker enjoyed a run for the ages as he helped UConn become the first and only team to win five games over a span of five days in order to win the Big East Tournament. Walker would be named as the tournament’s MVP, and he along with Connecticut rode this wave of momentum to another national title. Hornets owner Michael Jordan is reportedly looking to get an All-Star caliber player in exchange for Walker, while the team is also looking to have a potential trade partner take on another big contract as well. But for the sake of Walker his talent is best suited for the Big Apple or Hollywood.
Walker is from New York City and it would be a wonderful story to have him suit up for the hometown New York Knicks whom for the first time in a long time are showing some potential for the future. The Knicks are currently 22-28 which has them in tenth place in the Eastern Conference and a scoring point guard of Walker’s caliber could put them over the top in regards to making the postseason. However it is not that cut and dry for Walker to soon be playing his home games at Madison Square Garden due to the fact that I don’t see the Knicks either parting with draft picks, or be willing to take on a bad contract from the Hornets which makes this a long shot. However the combination of Walker teaming with power forward Kristaps Porzingis would immediately make the Knicks one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
When you think of basketball in Tinseltown, the first team that comes to mind is the Los Angeles Lakers due to their rich and storied history. However the Southern California basketball team that could benefit from acquiring Walker right now would be the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are currently 24-24 which has them 1.5-games behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference as they are seeking to extend their franchise best for consecutive postseason trips to seven. The Clippers have been dealing with injuries all season long, but they also have a huge void at the point guard position since Chris Paul left last summer. Center DeAndre Jordan is set to become a free agent this summer, and the Clippers need to convince him between now and then to stay in Los Angeles as Walker could fill a void in the team’s backcourt. But would the Clippers be willing to part with at least one draft pick in order to make it happen?
Jerry West is currently serving as a consultant for the Clippers as he is one of the best executives in NBA history as team owner Steve Ballmer would definitely listen to him before he made any deal happen. And in the case of Ballmer, he is not afraid to make a deal in order to grab some headlines away from the Lakers.
There are other teams around the NBA that could use the services of Walker, but this ordeal comes down to the man who created it in Jordan. How aggressive will Jordan be in regards to shopping Walker will be telling over the next few weeks. Walker is under contract with the Hornets through 2019 and he is a bargain among NBA standards as he is only earning $12 million for this season as well as next year. And more importantly for Jordan, what message would he be sending to his fan base in Charlotte if he were to trade Walker? Walker has become the first franchise player that the Hornets franchise has had in some time and this fan base could once again be jilted as this has happened so many times to them in the past which included the original Hornets leaving Charlotte in 2002.
Honestly I do not see a scenario where Walker is traded during the season as there is simply too much red tape to be cut through to work out a deal. However it would not surprise me to see Walker traded at some point around the NBA Draft in the mode of the deal that saw the Chicago Bulls trade swingman Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves last June.
The basketball fans of Charlotte deserve better than this as there are some teams that are committed to winning in the NBA, while others only care about making money. The Hornets fall into the category of the latter, and for Walker’s sake, it’s time for him to get out of Charlotte while the getting is good.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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