Charlotte Hornets: 4 reasons why Kemba Walker leaving worked out great
By Jason Huber
The Charlotte Hornets made a big splash in free agency last season signing former Celtics forward Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120 million deal.
Even without signing Walker to a max deal in 2019, the Hornets still had a lot of bad contracts on the books paying the likes of Nic Batum, Cody Zeller, and Bismack Biyombo.
Charlotte was an over-the-cap team all of 2020 but managed to free up some space when they waived and stretched the contract of Batum before the 2021 season.
Now, with Zeller and Biyombo off the books, the Hornets are under the cap this offseason and will have plenty of money to spend if and when they choose to do so.
When Mitch Kupchak signed Hayward to a large deal last offseason, there were a lot of question marks about whether he could stay healthy (which he didn’t) but he did make a huge impact on the Hornets team and kept them in the playoff race before his season-ending ankle injury.
Hayward is expected to continue playing a pivotal role in Charlotte’s rebuild and is a solid veteran to do so.
Had Charlotte signed Walker to a max deal, it would have severely handicapped what moves Kupchak could make over the next five years.
Walker is a great player but he showed too much inconsistency with his shooting and late-game performances with the Hornets to deserve a max deal.
With up-and-coming players like Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, and LaMelo Ball on the roster, Charlotte will need all the money they can to start signing players to long-term deals.