Kemba Walker is going home.
According to reports, the star guard will Signed with the New York Knicks After being bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder. For a team that desperately needs a point guard and a player who wants to prove that they have enough room, this may be the perfect choice.
Walker is a New Yorker who grew up in the Bronx and attended Rice High School, less than 8 miles from Madison Square Garden. Walker stayed in the Northeast during three seasons of college basketball at the University of Connecticut. He has some of the most memorable performances in MSG history, leading the Huskies through the 2011 Big East Championship and then winning the national championship.
After the Charlotte Hornets spent the first eight seasons of his NBA career, Walker think seriously Signed with the Knicks as a free agent. The 31-year-old chose the Boston Celtics instead, and he has played with them for the past two seasons.
Although this may be a great story, the Knicks know very well that Walker’s New York ancestry does not mean that he will find success in his hometown.
Kemba goes back to the garden pic.twitter.com/0wTn4Ab5p9
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) August 4, 2021
Cardiac Kemba returns to the garden
• Born in the Bronx
• Studying at Rice High School in Harlem
• Won the Big East Championship as MSG with UConn in 2011
• NBA career average points per game at MSG is 21.3#Nicks pic.twitter.com/Cn5hO5KwoX— CBS Sports Headquarters (@CBSSportsHQ) August 4, 2021
The Knicks’ deal with hometown point guard Stephen Marbury in 2004 ended in failure, resulting in zero playoff victories in the team’s five years. From 2011 to 2017, Carmelo Anthony was selected to the All-Star team for the New York team seven times, but the forward’s tenure at MSG was ultimately disappointing.
Boston had to Trading first-round picksTogether with Walker, in order to attract Oklahoma City to accept Walker’s contract. With a lingering knee injury, Walker has two years left in the deal and $74 million, which makes him a troublesome asset.
Walker has missed 45 games in the past two seasons. Some people worry that chronic knee problems will haunt his career. In the past 20 years, the Knicks have added many outstanding players-Antonio McDyess, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady, to name a few-they have passed their peak. , The status of the Big Apple further declines.
But there are reasons to be optimistic about Walker’s return.
Unlike Marbury or Anthony, Walker is not considered a potential savior for the Knicks. Walker will not be required to be the team’s leading scorer. On many nights, he may not even be one of the top three choices in New York.
Julius Randall has established himself as the best scorer of the Knicks. The New York team signed Evan Fournier as a free agent to strengthen the offense. Walker is expected to share the responsibilities of point guard with veteran Derrick Rose and second-year player Emmanuel Quikley, allowing the Knicks to limit Walker’s playing time and possibly giving him a better chance of staying healthy.
Offseason trades: Kemba Walker (free agent), Evan Fournier (free agent), Taj Gibson (free agent), Derrick Rose (free agent), Alec Burks (Free agent), Norrence Noel (free agent), Quentin Grimes (draft), Rokas Jokubaitis (draft), Miles McBride (draft) and Jericho Sims (draft) https://t.co/aJSND5IGOc
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 4, 2021
And lock in capable players like Kemba at a price of about $8 million per year-this is a breeze for New York.
The risk is small. Considerable rewards.
This is a basically intact team that completed 10 games last season at odds of 0.500.
Now you let Kemba Walker replace PG’s Elf Payton. https://t.co/jqe2OYGuQe— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) August 4, 2021
Even in the injury-ridden 2020-21 season, Walker still averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. Walker is only 18 months away from participating in the 2020 All-Star Game. In the past three seasons, he has been selected to the All-Star, just two years ago, he won a four-year, $140 million contract from the Celtics.
According to reports, Walker signs a $8 million contract every season, which is a low-risk move for the Knicks.
As the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks can be said to be the biggest super team in the regular season. Their offensive struggle was amplified in the playoffs, and the Atlanta Hawks quickly eliminated New York in the first round of the series.
The Knicks lacked a stable starting point guard, and they failed to get one in the first 30 hours of the free agency market. Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Lonzo Ball, Mike Conley and Spencer Dinwiddie have all signed elsewhere. It looks like New York will enter the next season without meeting its greatest needs.
If Walker can fully replicate his past work, then this will be a worthwhile signing for the Knicks.
Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
