Four-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a contract buyout Wednesday morning, paving the way for the New York City icon to sign with his hometown New York Knicks, sources told ESPN. Told Adrian Wojnarowski.
Accel Sports Management, along with Jeff Schwartz and Jevon Phillips, Thunder general manager Sam Presti and Walker's agents, worked to come to an agreement on Walker's contract with a two-year buyout and $74 million remaining. He can now slide into New York's roughly $10 million in the remaining salary-cap space, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The Thunder acquired 31-year-old Walker from the Boston Celtics in June, the first major move made by Brad Stevens when he went from coaching the team to replace Danny Enge as president of basketball operations, the previous Received 16th pick in the NBA Draft of the week. Moving ahead of center Al Horford in that deal as well.
Oklahoma City, which built up a battle chest of first-round picks over the next several years, then turned that 16th pick—one of three in this year's draft—to two more in the future when the Houston Rockets secured selection. Take the Turkish center Alpren Sengun.
Now the Thunder can use the roster spot created by Walker's departure to give their fleet of young guards play time as they continue their rebuilding. Debutant star Shai Gilgius-Alexander agreed a maximum five-year extension earlier this week, sources told Wojnarowski, while the Thunder have developed Lou Dort into one of the better defensive guards in the league and the first Josh Giddy and Trey Mann have been drafted in. round last week. They also have Theo Maledon, a second-round pick from last year's draft.
Meanwhile, Walker now has to move to New York, where he previously starred at Rice High School—where he once played against new teammate Derrick Rose—with Chicago's Simeon High School at Madison Square Garden. He then built on his legend as one of the greatest players in the history of the University of Connecticut, leading the Huskys to the Big East tournament title at MSG in 2011 to five victories in five days – only by leading it. Connecticut to its third NCAA title to follow.
Now he'll have the chance to carry on that history with the Knicks at MSG, with him right in the starting lineup as a significant upgrade next to his predecessor, Alfrid Peyton, and fellow Knicks newcomer and former Celtics teammate Ivan Fournier. place should be given. York's backcourt. The Knicks will count on both Walker and Fournier to fuel a mighty struggling offense in New York's five-game loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Celtics traded Walker to the Thunder in 2022 as part of a pivot to create pay-cap flexibility, as well as to better balance a roster, which is geared towards spending resources on perimeter players. had changed drastically, two years after signing him. A four-year, maximum contract of $141 million when Walker spent his first eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets.
Walker, who made the All-Star team in his first season at Boston, spent last season on a plan to manage his left knee, leaving him in trouble for much of the 2020 calendar year. He went on a 12-week reinforcement program for his knee after helping Boston reach the Eastern Conference Finals inside the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida — a plan that expanded early last season when the NBA unexpectedly Started before that and the Celtics had guessed.
Nevertheless, when Walker returned to the court, he remained an effective player for the Celtics, averaging 19.3 points and 4.9 assists in 43 games. He then missed the final two games of Boston's first-round series loss to the Brooklyn Nets, with a bone fracture in the same left knee, an injury not related to his prior issues.
"It's tough," Walker said of watching a playoff game after Boston's season-ending 123-109 loss in Game 5 to Brooklyn. "It's been really tough, especially because over the course of my career, I've played a lot of sports when I've been healthy.
"I came to Boston to be a part of those special runs and to be part of the high-intensity games and the fans going wild, and unfortunately I wasn't able to be a part of it. Just try to be right. Me Gotta do it right."