NBA Free Agency: Kemba Walker needs to leave the Hornets this summer

As NBA Free Agency quickly approaches, it’s time for the Charlotte Hornets to let Kemba Walker free and pursue greener pastures

“Got a mismatch. Kemba Walker…stepback…Walker…CARDIAC KEMBA! Does it again”

K-Walk has been a walking bucket since even before his UCONN days, and 10 years later at almost 29 he still is. With eight seasons in the league and plenty of impressive performances under his belt, Kemba can definitively be considered a trusted veteran. With all of these years in Charlotte though has come disappointment, primarily.

We see it all the time in college hoops and occasionally in the NBA. A team isn’t very good overall, but they just got that one dude that can give it to you any given night. My favorite example of this was 2015 Russell Westbrook when we saw him finally bloom to his perpetual triple-double potential.

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Dropping 40 pieces with 15 and 15 to go with it, Enes Kanter having a 20/20…those were the days. This is the situation Kemba has found himself in with the hornets pretty much the entirety of his career.

In his rookie year, the Bobcats went 7-59, ranked last in the league in points per game, and had a terrible roster. Who were the sidekicks? Gerald Henderson and Corey Maggette. That’s okay though, it’s the rookie year of a young star on a rebuilding team.

The next season Walker blossoms offensively, but alongside who? The team drafts Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, his help is Ramon Sessions and again GH. In the third year the team takes a step. Al Jefferson comes into average 20, they get some help from Gary Neal and GH and ultimately make it above .500. Insert Mo & Marv Williams, Lance, and a few other guys but again we go backwards.

Kemba only plays 58 games and we dip below 500 again. Fast forward to next season, they sign Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lin, Jeremy Lamb, Courtney Lee joins the team…ok…some nice young players and veterans, going up right?

Lamb is a nice player, but not in a prominent role. Batum has never lived up to the bill and has been hurt on and off, Lin didn’t work out, etc. Ultimately, the team has its best season in the Kemba tenure, going 48-34.

Heading to next year we grab….Roy Hibbert..? We’re paying MKG HOW much?? You drafted Fran Kaminsky HOW high?? KW continues to ball but it’s one step forward two steps back, 36-46. 2017 Comes, oh good you traded for Dwight Howard, great idea. Howard actually had a fantastic season last year, but he didn’t contribute to them improving. Malik Monk is drafted, nice but they’ve failed to utilize him well and the team again goes 36-46.

This season they did something well…drafted Miles Bridges. The only player taken later that you could make an argument for is probably Mitch Rob. Still, though, they miss the playoffs and even if they had made it it’s for what? To get swept by the Bucks? It’s evident that what the Hornets have tried so far has not and will not be successful. They constantly add and subtract “nice” role players or guys who can contribute, thus making them a threat every night and a respectable team.

That’s fine if you’re the spurs and have satisfied the championship thirst in recent memory, as well as still in the playoffs. But, that’s not charlotte. This team has been out of contention for a long time and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change.

So, is Kemba absolved from the blame? I don’t think so, but he’s not the source of the problem. He isn’t exactly the most efficient player in the league, shooting 43.4 percent this year from the field and that being his second best posting. We like to get on players like Russ or Harden about that percentage but that’s rough from Kemba too.

He’s not Dame, Kyrie, Harden, Steph, Healthy John Wall, CP, or maybe not even Mike Conley. He is one thing though which is box office. His handles and ability to drop 50 anytime is what makes him an elite guard even if he’s not top 5 at his position.

Aside from this, he’s also not a great defensive player. He ranked 31st amongst guards who’s usage rate was >15 percent and averaged over 30 minutes per game, which was also 217th overall. He isn’t the most efficient like I said, which is why he isn’t up there with Steph, Harden, etc. Posted an offensive rating of 111 (equal to his defensive rating, btw) which was 13th of all guards with the same usage and minutes criteria applied.

When you look at his TS% and EFG%, it tells the same story. He’s just below the top tier of his counterparts in those categories. Could the reason be partially because of the team and other players, absolutely? In conclusion though he’s likely at best a neutral defensive presence and a slightly less than elite offensive player.

This doesn’t mean his skill set should be wasted though. Walker has managed to get himself to the point of being able to average 25 a night if you need him to and putting on a show while doing it. Charlotte isn’t the place for it anymore. This team has shown a commitment to mediocrity over the last 10 years and it doesn’t seem likely to change.

Because of their consistent competitiveness and not tanking, their draft picks this year and in the future will continue to be early mid-round picks. Generally, you don’t get championship ready players there, and even if you could I’m not sure they’d pick him. What other options do you have to build the roster?

The team is in Charlotte, nobody is signing in Charlotte right now. KD? No. Jimmy B? No. Khris Middleton? Maybe…but the Bucks will lock that up. Kawhi? Heck no. Klay? Absolutely not. Cousins? Maybe? Will he even be the same?

That’s it, that’s the championship level players. There are a lot of other good options like Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Nikola Vucevic, Thad Young, Etc. etc. Say you signed a couple even a few of those guys, offloaded some bad money and built the backend of the roster. Okay…cool…you might be the 5 seed and you’ll lose in 6 to someone in the second round.

I might encourage that if Kemba was 24 or 26, but he’s not. He is almost 29 and he’ll be 30 before we know it, so please, stop wasting this mans time. He has four prime years left and it’d be nice to at least see him get to compete deep into the playoffs somewhere.

So where should he go, that’s the fun part. Option No. 1 is Boston if Kyrie leaves. Second, I would put the Mavs. Kemba, Doncic, KP; I also think they have a sleeper chance at KD. Next would be LA IF Kyrie doesn’t go there, and finally the Clippers. The most likely scenario is unfortunately that he stays in North Carolina, which is depressing, to say the least.