Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles against Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics.
For the time being, former Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker is a member of the Detroit Pistons. After the New York Knicks traded him, along with the draft rights to Jalen Duren, to the Pistons to open up cap room to sign Jalen Brunson, Walker is on the Pistons roster with one year left on his current contract. While there had been reports that he and the Pistons were finalizing a buyout, nothing is official as of now.
If and when Walker agrees to a buyout with the Pistons, an Eastern Conference executive laid out who he thinks should be his next team should he hit the open market.
“If he wants to play for a contender, he’s probably best off looking at Phoenix. They need another point guard. They need depth behind Paul. Give him a non-guaranteed deal and see how it goes. You can still make a change in January.”
The Phoenix Suns have a backup point guard on their roster with Cameron Payne. However, Chris Paul will be 37 coming into the 2022-23 season, so he’ll need all the rest he can get. Adding Walker would lessen Paul’s load, which could be handy for the Suns since Paul will turn 38 on May 6, 2023.
Walker is coming off a rough season with the Knicks, having dealt with knee injuries and being benched by head coach Tom Thibodeau. However, every now and again, crowds saw vintage Kemba show up on the court.
Walker has not been the same player he was when he joined the Celtics in 2019, but should he get bought out by Detroit, he could be a useful addition for the Suns.
Of course, they are one option out of a few.
Walker’s Other Options
The Eastern Conference executive also added teams that either were or could potentially be options for Walker if he gets bought out.
“He was the Plan B for the Clippers, but they went and got John Wall, so now he’s got to figure out something else. There was talk about him going to Charlotte, and that would be a good story for a team that might need one with the (Miles) Bridges stuff.”
At 32 years old, Walker would probably prefer to join a team where he will get to play. That would not have been the case with the Los Angeles Clippers following their signing of Wall while also having Reggie Jackson as their backup.
Charlotte bringing him back for another round would be nostalgic for them, and it would fit how their offseason has gone since the team just re-hired Steve Clifford, who coached Walker from 2013 to 2018.
Charlotte Interested in Reunion With Another Former Celtic
While Shams Charania confirmed that Charlotte was interested in a reunion with Kemba Walker, he also confirmed that they were interested in bringing back Isaiah Thomas too.
Hornets considering reunion with a former franchise cornerstone, among free-agent options, sources say:
Thomas played in 17 games for the Hornets during the 2021-22 season, where he averaged 8.3 points in nearly 13 minutes a game. Upon hearing the news that the Hornets were interested in bringing him back, Thomas let the world know that the feeling was mutual.