The New York Knicks landed a new point guard this offseason in Jalen Brunson, and that means veteran guard Kemba Walker had to be moved.
Walker was traded to the Detroit Pistons in an effort to free up cap space for the impending Brunson signing, something that’s now being investigated by the NBA.
Although he is still a member of the Pistons, Walker will eventually be bought out and he’ll be free to sign with anybody else around the league. At this stage in his career, Walker might want to prioritize winning a championship, and he might have his fair share of chances at doing that.
An Eastern Conference executive speaking to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney says the Phoenix Suns might be the best chance for him to win a title.
Walker to the Suns?
Despite flaming out with the Knicks, Walker has shown he still can score in this league, and perhaps that’s why a bench position would be best for him right now.
The Clippers were reportedly eyeing him as their back up point guard, but they decided to grab John Wall, and that leaves Walker looking for something else. The executive says the Hornets or Suns would make sense.
“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,” the exec told Deveney. “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. But 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.”
Walker signed to a team-friendly deal last season, and even that wasn’t enough for him to keep a rotation spot with the struggling Knicks, so a non-guaranteed deal might be what he has to settle for with his next team to rebuild some value.
Coming off the bench in Phoenix would be a good fit for Walker as all he’d have to do is score a bit while running the offense for brief periods of time. The Suns have a deep team, as evidenced by their title run a few years back and then again by securing the best record in the NBA last season.
Walker Failed Experiment
Last season, there was a lot of excitement when the Knicks brought in Kemba Walker, but it didn’t take long to figure out that was a failed experiment.
Although he had a bunch of injury scares with Boston, he remained relatively healthy with the Knicks, but his production was the major issue. He was banished from the rotation not once, but twice by coach Tom Thibodeau. The second one came after he wasn’t traded at the trade deadline, so the team sat him for the remainder of the year.
His eventualy trade to the Pistons ended his Knicks homecoming, but it looks like he’ll have at least one more chance to prove he can be productive in the league.
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Former Knicks Starter Linked to Western Conference Title Contender