Why Sunday was cause for Kemba Walker to question his future with Charlotte Hornets
I no longer think it’s likely Kemba Walker re-signs with the Charlotte Hornets. More importantly, I no longer can give you a strong argument why he should.
Sunday’s consequential loss to the Miami Heat, and particularly that dreadful fourth quarter, sums up why it’s hard to see how a future in Charlotte would be better for three-time All-Star Walker than an alternative elsewhere. The Heat went to extremes to take the ball out of Walker’s hands and none of his teammates was equipped to inflict punishment for Miami’s defensive brazenness.
The Hornets shot 3-of-16 from the field and 0-of-8 from 3-point range. They were outscored 32-15 over those final 12 minutes. They lost a game of huge importance to their playoff chances 93-75 to a Heat team that doesn’t scare anybody this season.
The only advantage the Hornets will have when they make the pitch to retain free-agent Walker in July is the ability to pay him more than any other NBA franchise. Doing so would make it that much harder to surround Walker with the talent that would make his next five seasons meaningful.
Maybe it’s best if Walker and the Hornets part as friends. Let Walker go to the Dallas Mavericks or some other team with the pieces to optimize his talents and have the Hornets start over. What is happening right now isn’t progress, it’s stagnation.
When I walked into the visiting locker room postgame, power forward Marvin Williams was slumped over an ice bath for his feet, a towel draped entirely over his head. Williams sat that way a long time, and it captured the mood.
Despite bobbing along below .500 of late, the Hornets had the chance Sunday to catch the Heat for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the inevitable happened when the Hornets play the Heat and stakes are involved: Future Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade blew up the Hornets, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers.
It was like Game 6 of the 2016 playoff series all over again, except this time you couldn’t say, “Well, at least the Hornets are on the right track.”
Crossroads
Wade’s career is illustrative as to the crossroads Walker faces. The Heat won the NBA championship in 2006, then struggled. Either the Heat had to find Wade help or there was cause for Wade to sign with another team. The Heat convinced LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join up, producing championships in 2012 and 2013.
The Hornets didn’t win a playoff round in Walker’s first seven NBA seasons, and it’s unlikely they will reach the postseason in April. It’s clear the Hornets don’t have nearly enough talent around Walker, and there is no obvious path to find a significant upgrade in the short run.
Walker finished Sunday with 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. He was scoreless in the fourth quarter, when he missed his only two shots, both 3-pointers.
Teams have been trapping Walker to the extreme with regularity lately. Miami does it better than most, but you saw it recently from the Houston Rockets, as well. It’s a symptom of a wider problem that the Heat could devote two defenders to Walker constantly with so little damage inflicted by other Hornets.
“They do a great job. They’ve got very athletic guys. They just make sure I get rid of the basketball,” Walker described.
“That’s their main goal with me: to get rid of the basketball.”
‘It hurts’
The Hornets weren’t pretending Sunday that this was just another regular-season game. They knew their dwindling playoff chances rode heavily on this head-to-head match-up against a team they had beaten two of the three previous times they played this season.
When Walker was asked how Sunday felt, he had an economy of words:
“It hurts.”
Of course it does, and that’s not new. Much as Walker enjoys Charlotte — he’s sincere about how the town is in his heart — this will be the first time he’s an unrestricted free agent. Probably the only time he will have complete control over his career.
When Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and others in the NBA ask for meetings, he’s got to listen. Walker is going to make so much money regardless of where he signs that this is about more than who can most fill a bank statement.
When he makes that choice, it won’t surprise me at all if his decision evolves from what he said Sunday. Because, yes...
“It hurts.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2019 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Why Sunday was cause for Kemba Walker to question his future with Charlotte Hornets."
