Kemba Walker Is Going To Put His ‘Heart And Soul’ Into The Hornets Despite Trade Rumors


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As Boyz II Men once sang, it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. For Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets, they may be singing the same tune in a short period of time.

On Friday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Hornets have made the 2016 Eastern Conference All-Star available on the trade block. It’s curious timing for the Hornets, who are four games behind the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 39 games to play.

Unfortunately for Walker these rumors dropped while the Hornets were in the middle of practice on Friday morning as the team prepared for their Saturday game against the Miami Heat. Walker spoke with media after practice, giving an emotional statement about how he grew up in Charlotte and his ties to the community.

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“I don’t know, I’ve seen it,” said Walker. “This is the first time I’ve been been in this situation. But what can I do? I’m still here and I’ve been here for the last seven years and I’m gonna do what I gotta do to help this team win games, that’s all I can do. I have no control over those type of things, I try to keep my mind off of it.”

Hornets head coach Steve Clifford also spoke to the media about the rumor, first telling reporters that in his 15 years of coaching that there’s always going to be rumors floating around in the media about player trades. But he said, however, he doesn’t see a scenario where Walker could be traded.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the players, ” said Clifford. “Nobody has said anything about it here and it’s a rumor. He’s our best player, he’s our franchise and I find a difficult scenario where he’d get traded.”

Walker was complimentary of his coach and his words, and he credited Clifford with turning him into the one of the upper echelon point guards in the league.

“It’s gotten to be bigger than basketball with me and Cliff, we’re just close,” said Walker. “We get along really well from day one. I just love the way that he coaches us and the enthusiasm and the passion he has for the game, it rubs off on people, it rubbed off on me. He’s turned me into a whole different player, person. He’s helped me approach the game different on a night to night basis. I mean, that’s my guy.”

For the Hornets as whole these rumors couldn’t come at a worse time. The chase for the playoffs might be derailed by these rumors and if the Hornets do trade Walker, one would hope the return is significant or it could upset a fanbase desperate for an upswing.

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