Kemba Walker’s name has popped up in trade rumors over the last few months. The dynamic, 28-year-old point guard is the best player on the Charlotte Hornets, but between his impending unrestricted free agency next summer and the team’s myriad of bloated contracts, there’s been plenty of speculation that Walker could be on the move at some point.
To his credit, Walker has repeatedly said he does not want to play somewhere else for the first time in his NBA career. That continued during the Hornets’ media day on Monday morning, as Walker once again shot down any and all rumors that he wants to leave Charlotte. Not only did he say he wants to stay with the franchise, but the two-time All-Star point guard said he wants to be a part of something special.
Hornets PG Kemba Walker on his future: "This is where I want to be. I don't want to be nowhere else. I want to create something here."
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) September 24, 2018
This is tremendous news for the Hornets, which doesn’t exactly have a sterling track record when it comes to attracting big-name talent via free agency. Having a player of Walker’s caliber openly say he wants to stay in Charlotte through thick and thin is a big deal. However, Walker saying this could make a breakup that “needs” to occur to get the Hornets closer to stepping out of salary cap hell all the more painful. Time will ultimately tell if that needs to happen, but at least fans in Charlotte can take solace knowing that if that were to pop up, it wouldn’t be because of a trade request by Walker.
