Kemba Walker led Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets for close to a decade throughout the regular season. While they rarely ever made the Playoffs (defeated by the Miami Heat in the first round in 2016), Walker becoming an iconic figure in Hornets lore given the fact that he is their all-time leading scorer.
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When it came time to dish out the big bucks for Kemba and pay him a max extension, Jordan chose to let him walk. In hindsight, while this was a gut-wrenchingly painful move to go ahead with, it was the right thing to do. Not having a max slot tied up in an aging below 6-foot point guard seemed like the right thing to do.
Now, after stints with teams like the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics, Walker has found himself on the Dallas Mavericks where he’s earning a base salary of $2.2 million.
Also read: Why is Luka Doncic Not Playing Tonight vs the Cavaliers?
Kemba Walker goes off for 32 points and claims to want to play with Luka Doncic
Kemba Walker scored 32 points in the 1-point loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Luka Doncic was out for the game along with a slew of other starters and so losing on the final possession to a stacked and healthy Cavs team while being this shorthanded is quite the accomplishment.
This was the first time Kemba scored over 30 points in a game in 359 days. Some of the moves he hit defenders with during the game were very reminiscent of his old self, everything from the burst off the dribble to the pull-up shooting.
Following the game, during his media availability, Kemba admitted that he would love to share minutes with Luka Doncic, rhetorically asking, “Who wouldn’t want to play with that kid?”
Kemba Walker, asked about more potential time in rotation with Luka Doncic: “I would love it. No question. Who doesn’t want to play with that kid? He’s special. But yeah, like I said, I really just do what I’m asked. That’s what I’m here for.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) December 18, 2022
Have the Mavericks found their Jalen Brunson replacement?
It’s much too early to compare an aging Kemba Walker to Jalen Brunson, who is in the prime of his career. While they do have similar ways of scoring the ball, Brunson provides something Walker simply cannot compare himself to: defense.
Jalen Brunson, in a Fred VanVleet-esque way, is one of the best undersized perimeter defenders in the league, especially when he’s dialed in on that end of the floor. Walker is a defensive liability so pairing him with Luka in the backcourt may prove to be a bit troublesome for extended minutes.
