A Hornet since 2011, Kemba Walker has still appeared in just two career postseason series, a factor he’ll surely consider as he weighs his upcoming free agency decision. However, Walker said this week on ESPN’s The Jump that he has spoken to general manager Mitch Kupchak about what the team has in mind for roster upgrades and has faith in Kupchak to build Charlotte’s roster.
“They know. They know what they got to do,” Walker said. “That’s not my job. I’ll leave it up to those guys. … We have Mitch now, who’s a great guy who’s done a great job at building teams over his GM career, and I have a lot of trust in him.”
The Hornets are currently carrying several oversized contracts on their cap, which will make it tricky for the team to substantially improve its roster this season or next. Reports have suggested that Charlotte is making an effort to move at least one of those contracts – possibly Nicolas Batum‘s – by dangling Frank Kaminsky as a sweetener. That would create some added flexibility for Kupchak and his front office this offseason, but there’s no indication that any deal is close at this point.
Of course, at this time last year, it was Walker who was the subject of those trade rumors, but the Hornets held onto their star point guard through the 2018 trade deadline. And after Kupchak took over for former GM Rich Cho in the spring, that trade speculation died down for the most part, with the former Lakers GM expressing multiple times that he viewed Walker as a long-term building block.
Walker, who turns 29 in May, will be an unrestricted free agent in July, at which point the Hornets could offer him up to five years and a projected $189MM+ (or $221MM if he meets the Designated Veteran Extension criteria). It’s not clear if Charlotte would be willing to go that high, but the club is expected to make a strong push to bring back Walker.
For his part, the veteran point guard joked that he’s not sure what he’ll say to “the GOAT” (team owner Michael Jordan) at the negotiating table, adding that he’s in wait-and-see mode in regard to his free agency.
“I want to enjoy that process I guess, and just wait for it over the summer,” Walker said on The Jump.
A player that just plays? Rarity.
Check out all the terrible contracts your team has Kemba , not gonna be easy to just “do what they have to do”
Batum and Kaminsky for Parsons and Casspi…Charlotte could throw in a 2nd rounder since Memphis has no scheduled picks in 2019
Didn’t Memphis buy out Parsons last week?
They told him to go away.
Batum Kaminsky and a 2nd rounder for Parsons and Casspi…2nd rounder compensates Grizz for taking on difference between Kaminsky and Casspi salary difference plus extra year of Batum salary