The 2021-22 NBA season has been extremely intriguing thus far and there are already potential changes on the horizon through the trade market. With the slow start that the New York Knicks have had, they chose to move Kemba Walker out of the rotation and will look to trade him. One team to keep an eye on as a potential trade destination could be the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to a source, the Clippers are among the few teams expected to have some level of interest in trading for Walker. However, there could be some issues with getting a deal done between any team and the Knicks.
Due to the struggles that Walker has had this season with the Knicks, his trade value is practically non-existent. New York isn’t going to get anything of value back in return for Walker. But, he is on a deal that pays him an average salary of over $8.9 million for the next two years.
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Walker ended up playing in and starting 18 games with the Knicks prior to these major developments. In those appearances, he averaged 11.7 points per game to go along with 3.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds. He shot 42.9 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 41.3 percent from the three-point line.
While the offensive numbers don’t look completely terrible, Walker has become a massive defensive liability. That is part of the reason that Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau has made the decision to move away from Walker.
Why would the Clippers have interest in trading for Kemba Walker? Quite simply, they are looking for any kind of firepower that they can bring in. Both Eric Bledsoe and Reggie Jackson have had consistency issues this season and L.A. might be willing to take a risk on Walker in the hope that they can help him turn things around.
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From the outside looking in, the fit with the Clippers might not be a terrible one. Paul George is an elite defender and Kawhi Leonard when he returns is the same. Walker could be covered on the defensive end of the floor by that duo.
Offensively, the Clippers are not going to be asking Walker to score 20 points per game. They need him to come in and consistently score 10-15 points, but also be a threat to go off on any given night. That is a role that Walker can still play.
Make sure to keep your ears open in the coming days. The Knicks would like to move on from Walker as soon as possible. If the Clippers truly want him, they should be able to work something out with New York.
