Getty Kemba Walker leaving the court following the New York Knicks' season-opening win on October 20.
It’s been fun, it’s been real, but it hasn’t been real fun. Kemba Walker’s time as a member of the New York Knicks is all but finished, with the four-time All-Star shut down for the rest of the 2021-2022 season.
The 31-year old is averaging a career-worst 11.6 points and 3.5 assists over 37 appearances this year.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first with reports:
ESPN Sources: The New York Knicks and guard Kemba Walker have agreed that the four-time All-Star will be sidelined for the remainder of the team’s season. Story:
Wojnarowski followed that report up with a second tweet, clarifying that New York and Walker will likely work towards a trade this summer, given that he’ll have just one year left on his contract:
Walker will be on an expiring contract this summer and that’ll offer an opportunity for the Knicks and his agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports to work on trade scenarios in the offseason.
Trust that Kemba’s tenure with the Knicks likely won’t be remembered with grace.
Walker Has Been a Major Disappointment
The 10-year veteran has only looked a shell of himself, and expectations were high when the team brought him in this past summer on a two-year, $18-million deal following a buyout from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There was hope that the point guard could have helped to improve a New York offense that scored just 97 points per game in their first-round playoff loss.
That couldn’t have been further from reality, as the aged and worn-down point guard has served as more of a ball stopper than a floor general in the very season they’ve needed it most.
One certainty that can be drawn from this report is that there will be no buyout for the first of Walker’s two-year contract, given that the deadline for such a transaction is 11:59 PM ET on March 1st.
So, Kemba will remain a Knick, even if only on paper, as he’s so strongly longed to be for the majority of his career.
Be careful what you wish for Walker.
Young PG Shining Overseas
On a day as dark as one where you have to admit your favorite team’s shortcomings, perhaps there’s a reason for hope regardless; second-round pick, and point guard Rokas Jokubaitis.
Most recently, the 21-year old scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter against Real Madrid, leading FC Barcelona to victory in the championship round of the Spanish Copa del Rey:
For a team that has longed for an answer at the point guard position for the greater part of a decade, it seems that the answer for New York is always both within and just outside their grasp.
Jokubaitis is no exception, with Knicks fans already contemplating the many methods by which he could end up donning the blue and orange atop the hardwood at Madison Square Garden.
New York’s front office may share the same fascination, as they used the fourth pick of the second-round on the guard in last year’s draft, passing over flashier names such as Ayo Dosunmu, Brandon Boston Jr., Jared Butler, or Sharife Cooper.
Jokubaitis finishes his season with FC Barcelona averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 assists, and shooting a blazing hot 57% clip from behind-the-arc, albeit on just 28 attempts.
With only 23 games remaining to the New York Knicks’ 2021-2022 season, some faction of the fanbase has already turned their eyes to the offseason, and paths to an upgraded product ahead of the fall.
If you’re among them, keep your eyes on the 21-year old Jokubaitis.
His performance in the clutch alone shows his potential to be a player that thrives under pressure. And there is no greater pressure than the many lights of Madison Square Garden and her fans.
Just ask Kemba Walker.
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