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Multiple Charlotte Hornets officials had a hunch that Kemba Walker would be leaving after he was named to the All-NBA team, according to a report from Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports.
The Hornets were interested in keeping Walker aboard, but their offer was reportedly not up to par. Ultimately, the former No. 9 overall pick decided to join the Celtics this summer, agreeing to the terms of a four-year, $141 million deal.
That supermax bump had the opposite effect. When asked when they felt Walker was going to leave, multiple Charlotte team officials told NBCSports.com that it was the day he earned All-NBA status. For Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, whose net worth is pegged at about $42 billion, a supermax contract that pushes L.A. deep into the luxury tax might be a drop in the bucket. But that’s not the case for the Hornets principal owner Michael Jordan, whose net worth is but a small fraction of his technocrat peers in NBA ownership circles. In late June, Charlotte general manager Mitch Kupchak was asked whether the Hornets would go into the luxury tax if it meant keeping its team together. Kupchak confirmed what Hornets fans dreaded, saying: “I would not anticipate that is something we would look to do.”
The Hornets indeed balked at paying the tax and reportedly offered Walker about $60 million less than the supermax, a gulf Walker saw as too wide to overcome. Months after telling ESPN’s Zach Lowe that “he couldn’t care less about big markets,” Walker agreed to a four-year, $141 million max with one of the biggest markets in the NBA.
Walker will face off against his former team for the first time on Thursday night, when the Celtics travel to Charlotte for a matchup against the Hornets. He knows it will be an emotional scene, but he's looking for a win.
“It’s coming quicker than I thought. I know it’s going to be pretty emotional. But I’m looking forward to it,” Walker said of playing in Charlotte as a visitor for the first time in his career, via NBC Sports. “I really want to beat them.”
So far, Walker has played well with the Celtics. Through his first six appearances, the former UConn standout has racked up averages of 26.0 points on 40.4 percent shooting from the field (42.6 percent from beyond the arc), 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 34.7 minutes per outing. He's also been extremely efficient at the free-throw line, knocking down 91.1 percent of his attempts.
Thursday night's matchup between the Hornets and Celtics is set to tip inside the Spectrum Center at 8:00 p.m. ET, with TNT having live broadcast coverage.
