9:47pm: Zach Lowe of ESPN confirms (via Twitter) that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder is headed to the Knicks in the deal. That means the trade, as reported so far, looks like this:
Pistons acquiring Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker.
Knicks acquiring Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected; from Pistons).
Hornets acquiring Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, the Jazz’s 2023 second-round pick, either the Mavericks’ or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (all from Knicks).
9:29pm: According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), the Hornets are receiving the Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, Utah’s 2023 second-round pick, either Dallas’ or Miami’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick.
All of those second-rounders belonged to New York, while the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder (top-14 protected) was held by the Thunder — it’s presumably one of the picks headed to the Knicks in the Ousmane Dieng trade.
Boone’s report suggests that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder will go from Detroit to New York rather than to Charlotte, but we’ll await further confirmation to be sure.
8:26pm: The Hornets will trade Memphis center Jalen Duren to the Pistons after selecting him 13th overall in tonight’s draft, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
According to Fischer (Twitter link), it’ll be a three-team trade that also involves the Knicks. Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that New York is sending Kemba Walker to Detroit as part of the trade.
However, it seems unlikely that Walker will remain with the Pistons for long, as sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the two sides are expected to discuss a buyout of the final year of his contract, which is worth $9.17MM next season.
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that a deal was close, while Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that Charlotte is acquiring the 2025 Milwaukee first-round pick (top-four protected) that Detroit is receiving from Portland in the Jerami Grant trade.
Meanwhile, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets are acquiring four second-round picks in the deal. The details on those second-rounders have yet to be reported, but it seems likely that most, if not all, of them are coming from the Knicks as part of the price for dumping Walker’s contract.
Duren averaged 12.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 29 games (25.3 MPG) during his first and only college season, earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors and making the All-AAC First Team. He won’t turn 19 until November after graduating from high school a year early, making him one of the youngest players in the draft class.
The New York Knicks are reportedly exploring trade options for some of their key players.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday that New York is looking to deal its more experienced players to make room for its younger stars.
“In conversations this week with teams, the Knicks have expressed a willingness to trade some of their veteran players,” Windhorst said on NBA Today. “That includes Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, guys like this.”
Both Walker and Fournier were added to the team this past offseason, so it’s a surprise that the Knicks are looking to get rid of them so quickly. Fournier was acquired via sign-and-trade with the Boston Celtics on a four-year, $73 million contract. Walker, a native New Yorker, signed a two-year deal worth $17.9 million.
Windhorst further explained that the Knicks roster is a mix of aging and young players who haven’t meshed well together so far this season. Head coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t been able to put together a consistent rotation for the team to be successful, which has resulted in a 23-26 record.
New York recently acquired wing player Cam Reddish in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, but he hasn’t been able to see the floor much. The impending return of veteran point guard Derrick Rose will also eat up playing time from other players.
“They traded for Cam Reddish two weeks ago, and he is not getting minutes in the rotation from Tom Thibodeau,” Windhorst said. “And Derrick Rose is expected to come back from injury very soon here. It’s just too crowded, and they’re not playing well with what they have, so they’re willing to change that mix.”
Reddish was inserted into Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter when a win was well out of reach. New York fell 110-96 after trailing by as many as 30 points.
“Thibs has only played Reddish a total of 15 minutes so far, and 10 of them were last night, most of them in garbage time against the Heat in a game that was out of hand,” Windhorst said. “Obviously the Knicks traded for him, they’d like to see him play.”
The Knicks will look to end a two-game skid when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kemba Walker has gone from a sweet comeback story after his demotion to a New Year’s Eve mystery.
One hour before the Knicks were to face the Thunder on Friday, Walker was ruled out with left-knee soreness. This wasn’t load management but a mishap that happened during pregame warm-ups, with no timetable for his return or a grasp on what may be new with his arthritic left knee.
Walker was not on the bench in street clothes as the Knicks were beaten 95-80 by the rebuilding Thunder to end 2021 on a low note. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said he’ll be tested further.
“It was last minute,’’ Thibodeau said. “He was warming up, and something didn’t feel right. So, I haven’t talked to the trainers yet. It was a last-minute scratch.’’
Walker played both ends of a back-to-back in Minnesota and Detroit this week — something he did not do last season with Boston.
Kemba WalkerUSA TODAY Sports
Asked if this was serious, Thibodeau said, “I don’t know, because he started his warm-up, and then he stopped. And then [trainer] Anthony [Goenaga] was looking at him and just felt, let’s get him examined, and then we’ll go from there.’’
The mishap ruined Walker’s return to OKC where the fans never got to know him. And the fans still didn’t get to see Walker as Miles McBride started.
Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti traded for Walker in June, obtaining him from Boston ostensibly to get rid of his own bad contract in Al Horford and pick up an extra first-round draft pick in the deal. That’s how desperate Brad Stevens was to remove Walker and his arthritic left knee from the Celtics when he took over as team president.
The deal went down on June 18, and speculation immediately arose that the rebuilding Thunder would peddle Walker’s two-year, $74 million contract by the season opener.
According to an NBA executive, Walker spent about a week in OKC after the trade with physicals, meeting staff, working out with a Thunder trainer and posing for promos in a light blue Thunder jersey. In fact, a Google search shows different editions of Walker’s Thunder jerseys can be bought online.
Thanks to diligent work by his agent, Jeff Schwartz, once free agency began, Walker got back home to New York. According to a source, Walker’s reps at Excel Management helped broker an arrangement in keeping in contact with both the Knicks and Thunder.
The Knicks had a league-high cap space available and no obvious point guard to spend it on once free agents Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie were spoken for. (The Knicks were not interested in Lonzo Ball.)
By giving up $20 million in a buyout package, Walker was able to recoup a lot of it by signing a two-year, $18 million deal with his hometown team to fulfill a Bronx dream.
KEMBA WALKER’S FIRST basket in a New York Knicks uniform was a simple one.
A couple minutes into New York’s preseason opener at Madison Square Garden against the Indiana Pacers, Walker had the ball at the top of the key. He then executed a give-and-go with Julius Randle, darted around a Taj Gibson screen and casually laid the ball in over the arms of Pacers center Myles Turner.
As Walker ran back on defense, he flashed a quick smile toward the Knicks’ bench. It was the culmination of a moment the Bronx native — and lifelong Knicks fan — had spent so much time dreaming about.
“It’s the most unreal feeling,” Walker, a 31-year-old veteran who was a first-round draft pick in 2011, said during his introductory news conference in August. “Like, I can’t really explain it. I can’t really put it into words how amazing this feeling is being back home.”
Walker’s history as a New York basketball legend — first starring at Rice High School, then going on to author unforgettable moments at Madison Square Garden while playing at the University of Connecticut — is something New Yorkers know all too well.
“It’s meaningful because of the fact he’s from here,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told ESPN. “Who Kemba is as a person I think is reflective of the city. Basketball is really important to this city and the Knicks are really important, and I think Kemba embodies what that is all about.
“He’s a fierce, fierce competitor, and I think there’s an appreciation here for how hard you play, how smart you play, how willing you are to be a good teammate and that is what Kemba has done throughout his career.”
The Knicks are a franchise that, for practically this entire millennium, has chased one dramatic storyline after another. From Stephon Marbury to Larry Brown to Amar’e Stoudemire to Carmelo Anthony to Phil Jackson, the team that makes its home inside The World’s Most Famous Arena has made splashy moves in hopes of returning to the glory days of the 1990s.
But it’s precisely that history of New York basketball, and Walker’s history with the city, that makes this marriage, at this exact moment, so unique. This isn’t a case in which Walker is being asked to save his childhood team, in the same way some of those past experiences and characters — Anthony and Jackson, in particular — were framed.
Instead, as Walker makes his regular-season debut with the Knicks Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) against the Boston Celtics team that traded him away this summer, Walker is in the rare position of arriving in New York with properly sized expectations.
“My guys, my hometown team, the Knicks, they believed in me,” Walker said. “And I’m here now. Whatever happened in the past is irrelevant at this point.”
The past isn’t exactly irrelevant, of course. The Knicks never would have dreamed that when Walker signed as a max free agent with Boston two years ago that they would sign him for less than $10 million per season a couple of years later.
“He was being judged [in Boston] by being a max player when he isn’t anymore,” said one Eastern Conference scout. “In a vacuum, as a ball player, it wasn’t representative.
“But on the Knicks, he’s a perfect fit.”
TWO YEARS AGO, Walker joined the Celtics to chase the chance to play in front of raucous playoff crowds and make deep runs after spending his first eight seasons in relative obscurity as the face of the Charlotte Hornets.
That was, in part, what left him so dejected last season after being forced to miss the final two games of Boston’s lopsided five-game first-round loss to the Brooklyn Nets because of a knee injury.
“I need time,” Walker said via Zoom after Game 5. “I just need a little bit of time to reflect and just get myself back together.”
Although both Walker and the Celtics stressed the knee issue that had ended his season two games early wasn’t the same one that plagued him throughout his second year in Boston, it didn’t change the fact he was 13-for-41 overall and 3-for-17 from 3-point range before being shut down.
“He couldn’t make a 3, couldn’t finish in the paint and couldn’t guard anyone,” a Western Conference executive said. “The knee just wasn’t in a good enough place.”
Walker’s Celtics career started off well enough in 2019. The team was successful, finishing No. 3 in the East in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, during which Walker was named an All-Star starter. And he was dominant at times in the NBA’s Orlando bubble, tearing apart the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, then forcing Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to employ a box-and-one in the second round as Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who was Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for that series, told ESPN. “Obviously losing Ben Simmons in that series, we didn’t have somebody for Jayson [Tatum], but it was just also one less defender for Kemba, so he really got loose in that series.”
Hanging over all of it, though, were ongoing issues with Walker’s balky left knee. He missed time before the pandemic paused the 2019-20 season and embarked on a ramp-up program into the bubble. Walker then was put on a 12-week strengthening program after Boston’s loss in those East finals — one the Celtics expected would help him begin last season on schedule.
Walker, though, didn’t make his debut until Jan. 17.
And while Walker’s regular-season performance in 2021 — 19.3 points per game and 4.9 assists per game, along with 42% shooting overall and 36% from 3-point range in 31.1 minutes a night — was in line with his production from his first season in Boston (20.4 points, 4.8 assists, 42.5% shooting overall and 38.1% from 3-point range in 31.8 minutes), it didn’t have the same impact.
“I almost feel like this guy gave up his body in Charlotte,” said another Eastern Conference scout. “He had to do everything in Charlotte. And I just feel like he was broken down by the time he got to Boston.”
Beyond that, Walker’s elite skills became redundant on a Celtics team whose offense evolved to run through its young stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. While Walker, long seen as one of the league’s best locker room presences, was always supportive of his teammates, it was an adjustment to go from being a guy who had the entire system built around him in Charlotte to, last season, becoming the third option in Boston.
“Those other two guys had the ball a lot, and can he function as well if he’s not ‘the’ guy?” asked an Eastern Conference executive. “Throughout his career he’s always been the best player on his team. … And he’s had the ball in his hands a lot, so there’s an adjustment to that and you have to be a real catch-and-shoot player if you’re playing off Jaylen and Jayson …
“I don’t think he adjusted to it. And then defensively, his size and inability to keep people in front is a challenge to deal with when people take time to attack you in the playoffs.”
Brad Stevens, in his first move as Boston’s president of basketball operations this summer, traded Walker and a first-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford. It saved Boston at least $20 million and helped the Celtics reshape themselves into a bigger and more defensive-oriented roster.
Walker, meanwhile, had gone from being a max free agent replacing Kyrie Irving to getting jettisoned as a salary dump to a team that wasn’t trying to win. At that point, his NBA future couldn’t have been murkier.
AS THIBODEAU DISSECTED tape of what prevented his team from advancing past the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, it was clear what the Knicks needed: more players capable of putting pressure on the defense, rather than having to put everything on the broad shoulders of Randle.
“That was the biggest thing — just being able to make plays off the dribble,” Thibodeau said.
Incumbent starter Elfrid Payton was a non-factor offensively, and while longtime Thibodeau-favorite Derrick Rose was excellent for the Knicks all season after being acquired from the Detroit Pistons, he simply wore out as that Hawks series went on.
So when Walker was bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder in early August, it was obvious how his long-standing ability to create shots off the dribble — including pull-up 3-pointers — would be a boon to the Knicks.
“It’s tough when you’re in a drop and you’ve got a guy like Kemba, a guy like Dame [Lillard], who really loves that [3-pointer over a screen],” Celtics guard Josh Richardson, who has faced Walker multiple times in the playoffs, told ESPN.
“It’s almost like warm-up shots sometimes.”
And, by the time Walker cleared waivers a couple of days later, the deal was done.
Rather than playing for a team with two elite young wing players who need the ball in their hands, Walker is joining a Knicks team that was humbled in its own first-round exit. But while Boston was overwhelmed by Brooklyn’s massive talent advantage, the Knicks didn’t have the ability to consistently score against the Hawks.
“The difference in New York is he’s the second-best player,” said the East executive. “He’ll have the ball in his hands. Boston tried to fit a square peg in a round hole. They tried to make him fit with them, whereas New York knows who he is and they are more likely to play to his strengths, running high pick-and-rolls for him a lot.”
And while Thibodeau is known for his defensive prowess, he has also had a long history of creating effective offenses with small point guards, including players such as D.J. Augustin and Nate Robinson.
“He’s always been a really good pick-and-roll player,” Thibodeau said. “The shooting [improvements Walker has made] have added a lot.
“You combine that with the ability to go off the dribble … when you look at the good teams in our league, they have multiple guys who can make plays off the dribble.”
Between Walker and fellow former Celtic Evan Fournier — along with Randle, RJ Barrett, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley and Rose — the Knicks are hoping they have the perimeter firepower to better withstand postseason defenses.
“Thibs does a really good job of providing a lot of freedom for them to get their own,” said another East executive. “I think, if [Walker is] right physically, he should be a really good fit.”
Walker will have plenty of questions to answer as the season gets underway, with health being the biggest one. While his numbers didn’t look great in three preseason games — 39% from the floor and 29% from 3-point range — Thibodeau said there have been no health issues. His defensive fit will be a question mark, too.
The difference between Walker in Boston and Walker in New York, however, is the expectations he has to reach. Boston has made it to the playoffs for seven straight seasons, and made the Eastern Conference finals in three of the past five years. New York, meanwhile, has made the playoffs five times in the past 20 years with one series win.
And it’s one thing to be dealing with nagging knee issues if you’re on a max deal. It’s quite another if you’re the sixth-highest paid player on the team.
“He’s obviously small defensively, and that’s a challenge,” said the West executive, “but I think he’s going to be a fine, capable, starting point guard for the Knicks.”
Even if that’s all Walker accomplishes, he’ll have the chance to do something rare: write a storybook ending to a New York basketball tale.
“I think it is,” Walker said, when asked if it was the right time for him to come home. “Perfect timing. [I’m] really motivated. Super excited that these guys have belief in me.
The point guard battle was over before it started when Derrick Rose all but ceded the starting job to Kemba Walker on media day.
Tom Thibodeau confirmed the plan on Wednesday, citing Rose’s value and experience playing coming off the bench last year.
“The one thing I feel very strongly about is our second unit played very well together last year,” the Knicks’ coach said following the second practice of training camp. “Want them to stay intact.”
Thibodeau did say it is not set in stone that Walker, a four-time All-Star from The Bronx, will start throughout the season. He also pointed out that it’s more important who finishes games.
Rose averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists in 35 games last year for the Knicks, and became a pivotal part of the team after coming over in a February trade from the Pistons. He frequently closed out games and could do so again.
“So the guys that give us the best chance to win are going to finish,” Thibodeau said.
Kemba Walker and Derrick RoseN.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
Rookie shooting guard Quentin Grimes singled out two experienced Knicks who have helped him and the other rookies so far.
“The two guys have really been Kemba and D-Rose,” Grimes said. “They both helped me for sure just going in drills telling me what to expect, competing every day in training camp, how it’s going to be during the season, just little things to do recovery-wise.
“Just having two big-time veterans like that, it’s going to be really good for my development for sure.”
Thibodeau isn’t concerned with the nature of the beefed-up Eastern Conference and what that could mean for the Knicks. Several teams in the league have improved, which experts believe may lower his team’s ceiling. But entering his second year, Thibodeau isn’t thinking about anyone else but his team.
“I think you go into every season and we feel if we’re doing the right things, the results will take care of themselves,” he said. “So understand what goes into winning, do everything you can to help the team win and if we get the whole group doing that, we like our chances.”
Here’s an interesting bit from Yahoo’s Chris Haynes (via Posted Up with Chris Haynes podcast) on how close the Clippers came to landing DeMar DeRozan’s agent before the Bulls swooped in last minute:
“The Clippers brass were driving, they were on their way to DeMar’s house. Things got a little bit more interesting with the Bulls, and DeMar DeRozan’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, called, it looked like it was going to get done. It looked like the deal was going to get done with Chicago. He called the Clippers out of courtesy and was like, ‘You know what, let’s not waste anybody’s time. Out of respect for you guys, let’s cancel this meeting. He’s going to go elsewhere.'”
The Clippers, for what it’s worth, ad little cap space to sign him to a big deal. According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated a few days ago, the Bulls were able to convince DeRozan to join because GM Marc Eversley flew to Los Angeles to meet with DeRozan. Eversley was the assistant GM of the Raptors when DeRozan played in Toronto, and the two have a longstanding relationship.
In the end, the San Antonio Spurs finalized a deal to send DeRozan to Chicago for Thad Young, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks. The 31-year-old DeRozan, who averaged 21.6 points, seven assists and 4.2 rebounds last season, will then sign a three-year, $85 million-plus deal with the Bulls.
Kemba Walker could find himself back in NBA trade rumors for the Boston Celtics as they look to gear up for a potential title run with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Walker, 30, has been a great player for the Celtics, but injuries have dampened his potential with the team.
The Celtics want to solely build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and having an overpriced liability at the point guard position isn’t biding well for the team. The Celtics could be in the mix to trade away Kemba Walker and add a younger and cheaper option at the guard positions instead.
Walker, when healthy, is a force to be reckoned with on the floor. Walker, this season, has averaged 15.0 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, and 4.3 assists per game. Walker has also shot 34.2 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Kemba Walker could be a great veteran presence to a team that needs a guard to compliment their unit through the 2023 season. Walker could also be dealt to a playoff team that could flip him to acquire some draft picks following the season.
There’s a lot of potential suitors for Kemba Walker, but I broke it down to a top three for ya. Here’s a look at three possible landing spots for Kemba Walker this season.