Prior to the start of this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired former NBA All-Star guard Kemba Walker from the Boston Celtics. In the deal, the Thunder received the No. 16 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft — which was later traded for two more first rounders — and a 2025 second-round pick. Oklahoma sent out Al Horford and Moses Brown along with a 2023 second rounder in the transaction.
This was clearly a deal in which the Thunder were willing to take on the $73 million Walker was owed over two seasons in order to obtain more draft capital. While there was a hope they could then turn around and flip him to a playoff team, this wasn’t the case. With how much money he was set to make along with injury concerns, OKC couldn’t find a suitor.
When it was all said and done, Walker and the Thunder ultimately agreed to a buyout shortly after the trade. As the 2021-22 season got closer, it appeared Oklahoma City was more willing to part ways completely than bring him onto the opening day roster.
Walker ended up signing a two-year, $18 million deal with the New York Knicks once he cleared waivers.
Just over a third of the way through this season, Walker has had an up-and-down experience in New York. After a solid start to the season for both him and the team, he ended up getting benched and removed from the rotation.
However, earlier this week Walker broke out. With quite a few players on the Knicks’ roster out for a variety of reasons, he got the chance to once again get minutes on Thursday.
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Walker finished with 44 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Wizards. This included converting on seven of his 14 triples on the night and producing 23 points in the second quarter alone.
Even after that performance, Walker’s trade value certainly isn’t high. With the contract he was on prior to the buyout, the Thunder likely wouldn’t have been able to move his salary while also acquiring assets. This is a similar situation to John Wall in Houston with the Rockets.
Unless these types of performances become consistent for Walker, OKC still made the right move in buying him out.
They acquired draft assets for taking on his contract and are more likely to be near the bottom of the standings without him on the floor producing points. Especially with how much cap space Oklahoma City has, this was a very smart move in hindsight regardless of it becoming a buyout situation.
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December 25, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Re-Visiting Oklahoma City’s Kemba Walker Trade - Sports Illustrated
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