There was a lot of optimism surrounding former NBA All-Star Kemba Walker upon his arrival with the New York Knicks. He is a Bronx native that had lit up Madison Square Garden as a high school phenom and a standout at Connecticut in Big East play. Now, he will get to play at MSG as a member of the Knicks.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Walker has struggled mightily on the defensive end of the court and the team was drastically better on offense and defense when he was off the floor.
As a result, head coach Tom Thibodeau made the tough decision to not only replace Walker in the starting lineup with Alec Burks but to remove him from the rotation altogether.
Walker will remain out of the rotation for the time being. The demotion began against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. While it was a surprising move, it needed to be done.
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As the consummate professional that he is, Walker took it in stride. Instead of moping and causing issues, he was cheering on and encouraging his teammates throughout the game in what was a tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The question now for the New York Knicks is what will they do with Walker? There have been some rumors that they would look to eventually trade him. While his shortcomings have been highlighted, as he is producing career-low numbers across the board, Walker has been an excellent shooter.
He cannot get to the rim with the same ferocity that he used to, but his jump shot is still on point. He is making 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, which would be a career-high. His defense leaves a lot to be desired, but there are certainly some teams that would take a shot on a guy shooting as well as Kemba Walker has been.
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One of those teams could be the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas has been looking for secondary ball handlers to pair with Luka Doncic. Jalen Brunson could take over that role should the team find another player capable of leading the second unit. That player could be Walker.
What would it take to acquire him from the Knicks? In this hypothetical proposed deal, Walker and two second-round picks head to Dallas in exchange for Trey Burke. Dallas has a trade exception big enough to absorb Walker’s contract into should they choose to do that, but in this scenario, they send Burke back as someone to fill out the end of the Knicks’ depth chart.
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The Dallas Mavericks would be taking a bit of a risk with Walker’s defense, which was a question mark throughout his career, worsening with his agility and athleticism being sapped by knee injuries. But, it could be worth a shot to see if he can run the second unit, pushing Brunson into a starting role.
As for the New York Knicks, trading draft capital away to move Kemba Walker would be shocking. They have done an excellent job stockpiling picks, but that isn’t the type of move they want to dip into it for. They are better off keeping Walker, especially if he isn’t causing any issues than attaching draft picks along with him to facilitate a deal.
