Rumor: Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers have “definitely talked”
The Charlotte Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly held trade talks prior to the NBA’s February 8th trade deadline.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Charlotte Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers have “definitely talked” about a potential trade. Although it’s unclear who was the target of these trade talks or how far they got, the assumption is that they were centered around Kemba Walker (but it also could’ve been about Dwight Howard). It was originally reported that the all-star point guard was put on the trade block by Charlotte.
Since that news broke, Hornets’ owner Michael Jordan has come out and said that they are not shopping Kemba. MJ made it clear that they would only trade Walker for an all-star like Kawhi Leonard. (CharlotteObserver.com)
According to a previous report from Woj, Cleveland did “check in” with Charlotte regarding a potential Kemba Walker trade. The difference in this news is that it confirms that trade talks between the two sides were held rather than just checking in. Brian Windhorst of ESPN also said that the Cavaliers may be willing to deal Isaiah Thomas in a swap deal for the Hornets’ point guard.
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The 27-year old point guard is averaging 22.7 points per game, 5.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals this season while also shooting 42.3% from the field, 36.5% from deep and 84.7% from the charity stripe. He is clearly Charlotte’s best player as he leads them in scoring, assists, steals, field goals made, three’s made and free throws made.
Kemba is currently one of the best bargains in the league. He is set to make only $12 million per year through next season. After that, he will become an unrestricted free agent but until then, his contract is considered a steal in today’s NBA. It’s easy to see why the Cavs would want Walker based on his production and relatively cheap deal.
If a trade were to be made between the two sides, Charlotte would most likely want Cleveland to take on one of their larger contracts like Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams or Dwight Howard in a trade where they give up Kemba. Ideally, the Hornets would also like a first-round draft pick in return.
HoopsRumors.com stated that just because that two sides talked, doesn’t mean a trade is imminent. They also pointed out that Woj said that “virtually every team with any sort of need at point guard has checked in with the Hornets about Walker.”
Next: Rumor: Bucks interested in trading for Monk
It will be interesting to see if these trade rumors heat up as the February 8th NBA trade deadline draws near. Although the Charlotte Hornets aren’t actively seeking a trade involving Kemba Walker, they will listen to offers from other teams.