Loyalty has meant everything to Kemba Walker thus far. Will that still be the case as he approaches free agency for the first time?
NEW YORK — Kemba Walker wants to keep some distance from his alma mater Connecticut’s decision to fire mens basketball head coach Kevin Ollie for “just cause” in March. But when asked about Ollie after his appearance at the National Basketball Player’s Association summer youth camp on Thursday, Walker couldn’t help but defend his friend.
“I try to stay away from that, but at the same time, K.O.’s my guy,” he admitted. “I love K.O. Great coach, even better person. Nobody deserves that. I try to stay away from that. But I’m on K.O.’s side.”
That’s a prime example of Walker’s loyalty. If you’re there for him, he’ll ride for you. That same loyalty is extended to the Charlotte Hornets franchise that selected him ninth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Walker’s shown unwavering commitment to Charlotte since then, and he’ll approach his first-ever unrestricted free agency next summer with that sentiment at heart. It’s the same reason why he signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension in 2015 instead of holding out a summer longer to be in position for a bigger contract.
“They believed in me since Day 1. That’s what it’s about,” Walker said. “I’m gonna be loyal to the people who were loyal to me. But at the same time, it is a business, and I do understand that. I see everything that goes on throughout the league with other guys being traded and stuff like that. But [Charlotte]’s just where I wanna be. It’s where I wanna be.”
2017-18 was a season unlike any the 28-year-old guard has dealt with in his career. For the first time, his name was attached to trade rumors that legitimately picked up steam around the trade deadline. All the while, Charlotte posted its second straight 36-46 record, missing the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan eventually said he wouldn’t trade Walker “for just anybody,” and that he would move the All-Star only if a deal brought Charlotte another All-Star in return. But the Hornets did reportedly listen to offers on the guard who said he “put his heart and soul into this team, this city.” Of course the trade rumors bothered him?
“At first, yeah. I mean, who wouldn’t get bothered?” he said “Who wants to hear their name in trade rumors? That was my first time ever hearing about trade rumors or anything of that nature. But you know, I got over it. What can I do? I just went about it day by day.”
The question won’t be ‘What can Walker do?’ next July. It’ll be ‘What does Walker want to do?’”
Walker flashed a cheek-to-cheek smile. Actually, it was longer than a flash. It looked like a thought he’d held in his mind for some time.
After all, his 2019 free agency is fast approaching, and it’ll be the first time in his career that Walker is an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any team. Free agents-to-be rarely know what they’re going to do ahead of time, and even those who have an idea — like Paul George, who desperately wanted to be a Laker before re-signing for four years in Oklahoma City — rarely predict the future correctly.
“I have no idea, man. I have no idea,” Walker said. “I’ve never been a free agent before. I don’t even know how the process works. Whenever the time comes, I guess I’ll go through it. But yeah, I will have an option unless Charlotte gets something done. Who knows? I really don’t know.”
One thing the world does know, though, is that Walker’s from New York. He grew up in The Bronx, played high school ball at Rice, then stayed in the Big East for college at UConn, where he won an NCAA Championship in 2011. A hometown favorite, Walker has been linked to the New York Knicks more times throughout his career than he cares to remember.
He’s said before that he doesn’t think he’ll ever play for the Knicks, and it wouldn’t make too much sense now that they’re rebuilding. But there’s nothing better than playing in front of your hometown crowd.
“Every time I come home — ‘When you coming home to the Knicks?’ — that’s all I get now,” he laughed. “So I don’t know. MSG is a special place. The Knicks are a special team. Of course I was a Knicks fan growing up. Always rooted for the home team. But like I said, I really can’t see myself in a Knicks jersey — ONLY BECAUSE I’ve only been in one jersey. I really don’t know.”
New York has two teams now, though. Are the Nets an option?
“It’s always kind of weird because the Knicks are here, but now you’ve got Brooklyn. But I feel like people don’t know who to root for sometimes,” he said. “I love Brooklyn. I love the city of Brooklyn. There are definitely die-hard fans. That’s one thing about people from Brooklyn, they’re very loyal, they’re die-hard, they believe in their team. I love Brooklyn. I love going there. I love playing there. It always gives me a chance to come back home, too, so that’s why I love it as well. I like the organization, too. It’s cool.”
There’s no organization he loves more than Charlotte, though. This is going to be the biggest decision of his career, and if the Hornets don’t aggressively try to keep him, they leave the door open for Walker to walk out.
After all, at this stage in a player’s career, entering his eighth season and third contract, players begin to prioritize their future and their finances. Charlotte can offer Walker a five-year max contract worth $188 million. The most any other team can offer is a four-year deal at $139 million — exactly what George will make over his next four years in OKC.
The Hornets, though, haven’t put the most formidable team around the franchise’s best talent since Chris Paul. They’ve been to the playoffs only twice since drafting him: a 2014 first-round sweep at the hands of LeBron James’ Miami Heat, and a 2016 Game 7 first-round loss to the Dwyane Wade-led version of the same team.
Charlotte’s offseason moves may restore playoff expectations. The Hornets traded Dwight Howard for Timofey Mozgov, then turned Mozgov into Bismack Biyombo. They poached Spurs lead assistant James Borrego from Gregg Popovich, and Walker said he expects the team to play a lot faster and more up-tempo under his lead.
Charlotte also traded a chance at standout rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on draft day for a player who projects to help them immediately: wing Miles Bridges. And to put the icing on the cake, they added depth to their back court by signing Tony Parker to a two-year deal.
“I just couldn’t believe he left San Antonio,” Walker said. “I think he just wanted something new, especially at the end of his career. We really wanted him, give him a chance to play some minutes. It’s gonna be fun.”
But Charlotte still looks far from competing for anything significant, and that situation has caused many players of Walker’s caliber to look elsewhere. Home is where the heart is, and Walker’s home is New York. But his second home is Charlotte, and that’s where his loyalty lies.
“I just wanna do something special for Charlotte, man. I’ve been there going on eight years now,” he said. “We haven’t really been consistent since I’ve been there as far as winning and getting to the playoffs. I just wanna try to establish that culture at some point.
“Hopefully we can start this year, but that’s what I wanna do. I wanna change the organization to make it even better. I just want to make it a winning organization.”
That faith will be tested. Walker will be one of most sought-after players on the market next summer, and Charlotte will have to pay him to keep him. As of now, though, the Hornets are his clear first choice.
“I’ll be focused and I’ll try to play as best as I can so that when my time comes, I’ll have options,” he said. “But hopefully I wouldn’t have to go through it. I hope the Hornets get something done before anything, before any team even approaches me.”