Knicks Reportedly Add Hometown Hero Kemba Walker After Buyout from Thunder
By Peter Dewey
Leon Rose and the New York Knicks are looking to make another savvy move on a veteran point guard.
After trading for Derrick Rose last season, Rose reportedly has brought a new veteran into the fold, as the Knicks are finalizing a deal with Kemba Walker once he is bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Four-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker has agreed to a contract buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and upon clearing waivers, plans to sign with the New York Knicks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2021
This likely spells the end to Elfrid Payton’s time in New York, as the Knicks drafted guards Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride and re-signed Rose this offseason. Oh, and they still have last year’s second-team All-Rookie guard Immanuel Quickley on the roster.
Walker’s deal with the Knicks reportedly will be around $8 million, and it is the ultimate buy-low move on a guy coming off an injury-plagued 2020-21 season.
The New York Knicks are planning to offer Kemba Walker a contract worth roughly $8 million in average annual value, according to league sources.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) August 4, 2021
Walker, a New York native, appeared in just 43 games during the 2020-21 campaign, but he averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The Knicks don’t need Walker to be an All-Star (which he has been four of the last five seasons), but he should provide them with a lot more shot-making and playmaking ability than Payton did last season.
Welcome home, @KembaWalker… The Garden has missed you.pic.twitter.com/zRg3KuP2RN
— Peter Dewey (@peterdewey2) August 4, 2021
The Knicks opened the offseason with +10000 odds on WynnBET to win the NBA title, but they surged all the way to +4000 after making some major moves on the first day of free agency.
New York brought back three key players from last year’s team that went 41-31 and finished fourth in the East in Derrick Rose (three years, $43 million), Alec Burks (three years, $30 million) and Nerlens Noel (three years, $32 million). They also added swingman Evan Fournier on a four-year, $78 million deal (final year is a team option) to replace Reggie Bullock, who signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
Fournier will also help New York’s offensive struggles that became extremely evident in last year’s playoffs, as he averaged 17.1 points per game last season while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Knicks may not be talented enough to knock off the Brooklyn Nets or Milwaukee Bucks in the East, but the Walker move is a low-risk, high-reward play by Leon Rose and the front office. If he stays healthy, the Knicks should reap the benefits next season.
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