Kemba Walker ended up signing a four-year, $141 million contract with the Boston Celtics at the onset of NBA free agency, as the Charlotte Hornets were not willing to offer the point guard the full max.
But did the Hornets even have to offer Walker a $221 million max deal to get him to stay?
Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report says no, noting that Walker would have stayed with Charlotte had the franchise offered him a five-year deal, even if it wasn't for the full max.
But, the Hornets ended up lowballing Walker, who then promptly signed with the Celtics.
Walker had spent the first the first eight years of his career in Charlotte after having been drafted by the organization with the ninth overall pick back in 2011.
His first four years with the club were merely decent, as Walker was more of a high-volume scorer than anything, but over the last four seasons, Walker has shown marked improvement and has made three straight All-Star teams as a result.
The 29-year-old is coming off of a 2018-19 campaign in which he played all 82 games and averaged 25.6 points, 5.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals over 34.9 minutes per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 35.6 percent from three-point range and 84.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Walker, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Connecticut and led the Huskies to a national championship in 2011, boasts career averages of 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, 3.8 boards and 1.3 steals per game.
The Hornets have missed the playoffs each of the last three years.
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