Buzz City Beat: Kemba Walker thinks his future is still with the Charlotte Hornets
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
In his second All-Star Game appearance, Kemba Walker scored 11 points to help Team LeBron defeat Team Steph, 148-145. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Kemba Walker’s future with the Charlotte Hornets, Steve Clifford praising Malik Monk and a Baron Davis‘ story from the 2002 ASG involving Michael Jordan.
Kemba “thinks” future still with Hornets (NYPost.com)
"The native New Yorker just hopes to be in Charlotte next February as host when the All-Star Game is held there. Widespread reports had the Hornets shopping Walker, though the Knicks went with Emmanuel Mudiay instead with an eye on their 2019 cap space. “I think I’ll still be there,’’ Walker told The Post with a smile."
Walker remains committed to Charlotte despite his name being involved in a number of trade rumors this season. It’s clear that Kemba wants to be with the Hornets and continue to build his brand and legacy with the Queen City team going forward. All signs point to him wanting to re-sign with them once his contract is up after next season.
He could sign an extension as early as this summer. I don’t see the Hornets moving their best player, especially when he is the face of the franchise and will most likely make his third consecutive All-Star Game next season as Charlotte hosts the event. Expect them to give Kemba a max contract once he is ready to re-sign which could be this offseason or next year.
Steve Clifford still believes in Malik Monk (CharlotteObserver.com)
"I should preface this by saying I think Malik is going to be a good player, (and) he could be a very good player. He is a shotmaker, he has good quickness, he is bright and he has a good feel for the game."
Clifford praised the Hornets’ rookie and said that there are many factors as to why he’s not getting playing time. He said that early in the season when Monk was getting minutes, he was playing out of position and when Michael Carter-Williams returned, he was a defensive upgrade for the second unit. Looking at the bench, it’s hard for Steve to justify playing Malik over Jeremy Lamb which is fair.
The only problem that I have with Clifford’s assessment is that MCW isn’t necessarily an upgrade over Monk. While he may add a bit more on the defensive end, he adds close to nothing on offense and is having one of the worst shooting seasons in NBA history. Surely, whatever Malik’s downfalls are on the defensive end, they can’t be as bad as MCW’s offensive struggles. We’ll see if the rookie can get playing time post-All-Star Break.
MJ kicked Baron Davis out of the locker room at 2002 ASG (Complex.com)
"Baron Davis during the 2002 All-Star Game: “I walked over and I saw Michael Jordan’s jersey and I went and sat in his locker room. He [MJ] came over and said ‘Get yo *ass out of my locker room.'”"
Next: Predicting the rest of the Hornets' season
Baron Davis made his first all-star game appearance in 2002 when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. It was his third season in the NBA and his last year in the Queen City as the team relocated to New Orleans the following season. What a story from a former Hornets’ great involving the current franchise owner. This sounds exactly like something Michael Jordan would say to a young player in their first ASG.