Hornets exec unplugged: On trouble with Kemba, Steve Clifford’s future, payroll mess

Charlotte Hornets vice chairman Curtis Polk calls point guard Kemba Walker this team’s “heart and soul.”

But he also says Walker’s inexpensive contract, combined with NBA restrictions on extensions, mean it’s highly unlikely Walker can be locked down before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July of 2019.

That’s one of many scary moments the Hornets’ next general manager will face.

Tuesday, the Hornets announced Rich Cho is done as the team’s head of basketball operations. Polk, a longtime key advisor to team owner Michael Jordan, addressed several issues in an exclusive interview with the Charlotte Observer:

On Kemba Walker

Walker, averaging 22.9 points and 5.8 assists, played in his second All-Star Game Sunday in Los Angeles.

The problem, potentially, is Walker is playing on such an inexpensive contract, relative to his productivity, ($12 million this season, and the same salary next season) that it’s unrealistic under NBA rules to lock him up long-term now. An extension would have to be linked to his current salary, which would still pay him far below fair market for an All-Star point guard.

Polk said it’s a “concern” Walker will likely have to reach unrestricted free-agency before he could be re-signed, but that’s a function of the rules.

“We love Kemba Walker,” Polk said. “We would like nothing more than for Kemba to end his career here.”

On coach Steve Clifford

Asked if he anticipates Steve Clifford, who has a season remaining on his contract, being the coach here next season, Polk responded, “I would today.”

Like each of Clifford’s previous four seasons, he and his staff will be evaluated in the spring.

“Once we get a new general manager on board, we’ll talk about the coaching staff,” Polk said.

“Steve has brought a lot of strong organization” to the franchise, Polk said, adding Clifford’s health crisis (a six-week leave to address severe headaches) concerned everyone in management.

“I think our coaching staff has done a good job. We think we can do an even better job,” Polk said. “We’re not at the top of the league (in record), so we should look at everything we’re doing.”

On player development

Polk said now, with most lottery picks having a single season of college experience before turning pro, the process of player development has changed.

“Most top candidates are now one-and-dones,” Polk said. “It used to be a top-four pick was a bonafide starter (quickly). Today, those guys 6-7-8-9 (selections) will need more guidance. Some (high picks) are out of the league by the end of their rookie scale” contracts.

On an impending payroll mess

With 10 players under guaranteed contracts for next season, plus a rookie on a likely lottery-pick salary, the Hornets are already close to the anticipated luxury-tax threshold of approximately $120 million. That will make it difficult to improve the team’s bench, which continues to be a weakness.

Polk said the one-time spike in the salary cap, because of new national television contracts, was hard to manage. That was in the summer of 2016, when Nic Batum got his five-year, $120 million contract. Since then, the cap has risen in smaller increments than once projected, which has left the Hornets and some other teams in a jam.

Polk said management knew when it made the Dwight Howard trade (at a salary of $23.5 million this season and next) and other moves that the Hornets would again be floating just below the tax line next summer.

“Now, the new general manager needs to get us a little below the tax line to improve depth” by facilitating trades and/or signings.

On strategic planning

Polk was a strong advocate for more strategic planning, as in making sure a string of individual moves did not collectively hamstring the Hornets down the road. For instance, shortly after Jordan bought controlling interest in the team from Bob Johnson in 2010, the then-Bobcats had the chance to acquire Kirk Hinrich and a first-round pick from the Chicago Bulls, but couldn’t make that trade because they lacked the cap space to absorb Hinrich’s contract.

Polk made it a priority to avoid similar situations, but recent events interfered with that agenda.

“We were doing very, very well until we got caught a little off-guard,” by the one-time cap spike in 2016. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but the landscape changed.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Hornets exec unplugged: On trouble with Kemba, Steve Clifford’s future, payroll mess."