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The Charlotte Hornets will have one primordial mission heading into the offseason — keep Kemba Walker.
Despite being linked to teams like the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers, it's heavily unlikely teams — including the Hornets — will know where his thoughts rest until the first few dominoes start to fall.
This upcoming free agency period is a cornucopia of star talent, which likely means the first three Ks — stars like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving — must sign before Walker and his agent Jeff Schwartz start leaning toward a destination.
Roderick Boone of The Athletic detailed his thoughts on this upcoming crucial free agency stint during a Q&A session.
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“Since Kemba is one of the top free agents on the market and it’s his first time experiencing what it’s like, I don’t think we will get an answer until after free agency opens at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1,” wrote Bonnell. “That’s when teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents and come to verbal agreements.
“Teams can officially sign free agents and complete trades on July 6 once the league’s moratorium period ends. But even when teams can really start throwing money around, I don’t think Kemba’s status is going to come to light until the first couple of dominoes fall (ie: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, etc.). Kemba is in that next tier just below those guys. It’s honestly all up to Kemba and his agent Jeff Schwartz. They will set the timeline. But the longer it drags out, the more concerned Hornets’ fans should be about his chances of returning.”
The Hornets would be the only team that can offer Walker a massive five-year, $189 million (or $221 million if he makes an All-NBA team) deal, as most others could only offer him a max of four years for a lot less money.
However Charlotte has run out of reasons of why Walker should stay, besides money, given their futile ability to surround him with promising talent — having missed the last three postseasons and four out of the last five years.
