Charlotte Hornets: Assessing Kemba Walker’s future as a Hornet

In the middle of the pack every year, the Charlotte Hornets might consider a change in the direction of their franchise. Would that start with Kemba Walker?

When discussing the NBA’s top tier point guards, the obvious choices are names like Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, etc. However, one name commonly left out of the discussion who debatably could be there is Kemba Walker.

Kemba Walker has made his case to be a low-end top tier point guard for several years now. His name is overlooked though because the Hornets don’t typically have the best record. When talking about the best point guard in the East, most people mention Kyrie, John Wall, or Lowry.

All of these players might be better than Kemba, but its a guards league now. He has still put up numbers quite similar to these top point guards over the last several years.

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Since 2015, Kemba has averaged over 20 points per game each season. The last two seasons he has averaged 23 points and nearly six assists per game. He’s also improved in his shooting percentages as his career has progressed, averaging 43 percent from the field, and 39 percent from 3 this season.

Take away the shooting percentages, and Kemba has put up numbers comparable to Kyrie Irving who gets way more notoriety.

The Charlotte Hornets have had a winning record just twice over Kemba Walker’s seven-year career. However, both of those years they did make the playoffs. The Hornets lost to the Miami Heat in the first round in both 2014 and 2016.

The Hornets haven’t returned to the playoffs after making it two seasons ago. Last season and this season have been disappointing considering they were thought to be on the rise.

Could the Hornets trade Kemba Walker within the next year?

"[via NBA.com]Per Michael Jordan, the Charlotte Hornets owner would not just trade his All-Star-caliber point guard for nothing. In January he stated, “It’s not like we are shopping him. We would not just give him up. I love Kemba Walker. I would not trade him for anything but an All-Star player.”"

Kemba Walker seems to be safe for now. Regardless, Jordan said this for a reason. They aren’t shopping him, but would trade him for the right offer? This means they actually would give him up, just for the right deal.

The trade deadline might have presented the first opportunity for that to happen. There were multiple rumors about the Cavs possibly trading Isaiah Thomas and more for Kemba. Jordan would have gotten his all-star player and likely more. However, this deal never came to fruition.

Michael Jordan might be re-thinking his stance on Kemba Walker over the next year. Kemba Walker’s contract is up after next season and he will become an unrestricted free agent.

While nothing is indicating that Kemba would certainly want to leave Charlotte, anything could change in a year. This could be a situation where the Hornets trade him next season to get quality value in return if they believe he might want out.

In a guard-driven league, there will most likely be many teams willing to trade for Kemba Walker. The Hornets could be much more active in the trade market this offseason or come next season.

The problem with the Hornets is they continue to be in the middle of the pack every season. Always either an 8 seed or right outside the playoffs, they are never in a position to get better through the draft. Mediocrity is often worse than being among the worst teams in the league.

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The Hornets have an important decision to make come next season. If they don’t want to be in the middle of the field anymore, they might go the rebuilding route. Trading away Kemba Walker would be the first step in that process.