While the NBA season has come to an end with the Toronto Raptors hoisting the Larry O’ Brien trophy, free agency is just around the corner. Because of the injuries of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, next season will look vastly different then it looks right now. One notable free agent, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, has announced that he would take less than the “supermax” to stay with his current team.
According to NBA.com, because Walker was named to an All-NBA team this season, the Hornets can offer him a five-year supermax contract worth up to $221 million — significantly more than the five-year, $190 million deal he would have qualified for had he not been named All-NBA.
“Yeah, why not? I would take less, for sure,” Walker said Thursday during his youth basketball camp at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte.
“That all factors in [to my decision] when I sit down with the teams and hear what guys have to say,” Walker said. “I think that will all come into play. I’m not really sure right now. Like I said, Charlotte is my first priority and I have to see what [the Hornets] have to offer, as well as other teams.”
“I have been here for eight years, and it’s the team that drafted me,” Walker said. “So yeah, it is my first priority. I don’t know if I will sign back with them, but they are my first priority.”
Depending on how you look at it, Walker announced that he would take less than the max is admirable or insane. If he would take it would only create financial savings for owner Michael Jordan and not give the Hornets flexibility to bring in talent to make a challenge in the Eastern Conference next season.
