With the NBA’s Free Agency opening later this month, Charlotte Hornets star Kemba Walker has made it clear about what Charlotte means to him.
Over the past few months, I thought that there was a legit chance that Kemba Walker leaves the Charlotte Hornets in free agency and signs elsewhere.
While that is still a possibility, him re-signing in Charlotte is looking more and more likely by the day, and that has to be music to the ears of Charlotte Hornets fans, who have grown to love their franchise point guard over the past eight years.
In a recent interview with Jared Weiss of The Athletic (subscription required), Walker went into detail on his upcoming free agency, and even said that Charlotte will be his first priority going into free agency.
I went to Tokyo to have lunch with Kemba Walker, whose future crystallized when he qualified for the Supermax.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) June 1, 2019
“Oh no question, Charlotte’s definitely my first priority, That’s where I’ve been for 8 years & that’s all I know.”
New on @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/4zrcL0ItVS
Walker has been one of the more loyal players in the NBA, but with the Hornets’ lack of success over the years, you couldn’t really blame him if he wanted to leave. However, he seems to be on board with the idea of re-signing in Charlotte, which just says a lot about his character and love for the city of Charlotte.
You just don’t see a whole lot of loyalty from NBA players these days. Multiple stars have forced their way out of situations, and Walker has stuck with the Hornets through thick and thin.
Obviously nothing is set in stone at this point, but I would consider the Hornets likely to re-sign Walker this summer. With that being said, Charlotte must prioritize getting better players around him. It seems that they have been doing their due diligence on the trade market, which is a positive sign.
Walker is coming off the best season of his brilliant career, where he averaged a career-best 25.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists. He was named an All-Star starter for the first time and put himself in play for a five-year, $221 million supermax contract extension by making the All-NBA Third Team.
Jeremy Lamb, who was Charlotte’s second best player during the 2018-19 season, is also set to be a free agent, and he is going to get a big raise. It would be nice if the Hornets can figure out some way to retain him and Walker, while trading away some bad contracts or assets for more talent at the same time.
The Hornets should be pretty active in the trade market leading up to the NBA Draft, which is on the 20th. Moving the 12th overall pick could also be a possibility. Charlotte has been rumored to have had trade talks with the Houston Rockets recently.
The 2018-19 season is nearly over for all 30 NBA teams, but the Charlotte Hornets have been busy since the end of the regular season. Re-signing Kemba Walker is a priority and likely, but they must improve the rest of this roster and show that they can be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference.