According to an ESPN report, the Charlotte Hornets have indicated that they would trade Kemba Walker. The Point Guard spoke to the Charlotte Observer on Friday.
Walker has been playing for the Hornets since he was drafted in 2011 and has become a synonym for the franchise. However, since the franchise is sportily low (18-25) and has little financial leeway due to various bad contracts, Walker could soon be running up for another team.
“This is the first time I’ve been in such a situation,”said Walker on Friday,”I’ve been here for seven years and I’m going to keep trying everything we can to win games as a team. If the franchise decided to trade him, he would be “pretty angry”, as Walker explained:”I have given this city my heart and soul.”
Walker is currently only about 800 points away from Dell Curry to become the Hornets’ All-Time Leading Scorer. However, as he is by far the most attractive player on the trade market for other teams due to his favourable contract, it may not happen any more. But he doesn’t want to be distracted by the rumors.
“I’m a pro. What’s happening in my life has nothing to do with what I’m doing on the court,” he hasn’t talked to Hornet’s GM Rich Cho or his agent Jeff Schwartz about the rumors yet.
How realistic a trade is in the meantime is relatively unclear: the Hornets would certainly insist on handing in at least one of their bad contracts, such as that of Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Dwight Howard or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. According to ESPN, they also want to have a young player or a draft pick as a countervalue.