NBA Free Agency 2019: 5 potential destinations for Kemba Walker

1. Charlotte Hornets

Loyalty may ultimately keep Walker in Charlotte this summer.

“Oh, no question, Charlotte’s definitely my first priority,” Walker recently told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “That’s where I’ve been for eight years and that’s all I know. Not many people get a chance to play for one NBA team throughout their career. When I go on my Instagram, I see, ‘Kemba, leave! Kemba, get out of Charlotte!’ People don’t understand, when they say you need to go ‘here’ and win, that winning is not guaranteed anywhere.”

The Hornets have only made the playoffs twice in Walker’s eight years, and they have yet to advance past the first round. They’re also mired in salary-cap hell at least through 2019-20, which limits their ability to find Walker a star sidekick in free agency any time soon.

Charlotte does have a massive financial advantage over other suitors, as it can offer Walker a five-year, $221.3 million deal whereas other teams are limited to a four-year, $140.6 million contract. The Hornets may not even need to go that far to convince him to stay, though.

“Yeah, why not? I would take less, for sure,” Walker told reporters earlier this month at his youth basketball camp. “… Charlotte is my first priority, and I have to see what [the Hornets] have to offer, as well as other teams.”

Seeing as Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak pledged to do “everything we can to bring [Walker] back,” the mutual interest between the Hornets and Walker is difficult to ignore. Re-signing him to a mammoth deal may condemn Charlotte to the treadmill of mediocrity, but if both sides are content with that fate, can anyone begrudge them for doing so?

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Basketball Insiders.

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