Thanks in part to the NBA’s new TV deal, extensions are starting to roll in like haywire tweets on the NBA on TNT Twitter account for the 2011 draft class. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Charlotte Hornets have signed starting point guard Kemba Walker to a four-year, $48 million extension:
ESPN sources say the Charlotte Hornets and Kemba Walker have agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract extension
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 28, 2014
Walker’s extension will kick in for the 2015-16 season. Under the NBA’s current salary cap, $12 million per year for Walker seems like a slight overpay. But as the cap dramatically rises in the next few years, Walker might wind up being slightly underpaid.
Last season, Walker averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game with the Charlotte Bobcats, all career highs. As a rookie, Walker shot an incredibly inefficient 36.6 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from three-point range, but he’s made small strides since then to improve his efficiency. Last year, Walker shot 39.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three-point range, which still isn’t particularly efficient, but at the very least he’s taking steps in the right direction.
Under new head coach Steve Clifford, Walker and the Bobcats earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, but were eliminated by the Miami Heat in four games in the first round. Al Jefferson had a resurgent year as one of the league’s best scoring bigs, so locking in Walker became an interesting proposition for a team with a suddenly bright future.
Walker has also made strides as a playmaker after being pretty indecisive as a rookie. The addition of Lance Stephenson should help Walker lead Charlotte’s lackluster offense back into acceptable territory, though both are dealing with their own nagging injuries at the moment. Walker will miss Wednesday’s season opener game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a foot injury and Born Ready is questionable with a groin injury.
With his potential and his willingness on the defensive end, Walker’s extension is the right play for the Charlotte Hornets, who joined quite a few teams to lock in sizable extensions with their 2011 draft selections. Before news of the TV deal broke, the Phoenix Suns locked in Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris to four-year extensions worth a combined $52 million. The Denver Nuggets gave Kenneth Faried a four-year, $50 million extension and the Orlando Magic agreed to a four-year, $53 million extension with Nikola Vucevic.