Kemba Walker: Grading His Extension with Charlotte
By Evan Massey
The Charlotte Hornets agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal with franchise point guard Kemba Walker yesterday and are extremely excited about the future. They agreed to a deal with Lance Stephenson in the offseason, and Al Jefferson is coming off of a dominant first season with the Hornets as well.
Michael Jordan has built this team from one of the bottom dwellers in the NBA to be a true contender in the playoffs. They aren’t going to win a championship this season, but they have the type of young talent that they could make a run at one at some point in the next few years if they can keep their core together. Walker has shown improvement over each of his three NBA seasons, and that is expected to happen once again.
Take a look at Walker’s numbers from last season with the Hornets:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/29/2014.
Obviously he was one of the Hornets’ key scorers last season, and he improved as a passer a bit as well. He still needs to work on his balance of passing and shooting, but that will be much easier now that Stephenson is on the team and can shoulder some of the scoring load. Walker will be able to play off the ball and focus on scoring when Stephenson is running the offense, and then can be a true point guard when the basketball is in his hands.
Both sides agreed to a fair deal, and it makes a lot of sense for both sides to agree to this new contract. Walker is getting a nice pay upgrade, while the Hornets are keeping their starting point guard in town long-term at a fair price.
Walker needs to work on his shot selection especially, and until he makes improvement in that area of his game he simply won’t reach his full offensive potential. He settles for contested jump shots and three-point attempts rather than being patient and taking the open shot, which lowers his field goal percentages quite a bit. If he works on that and begins to take good shots only, his production will rise and become much more efficient.
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At just 24 years of age, he has plenty of time to improve and reach his full potential. He has the potential to take his defense to the next level as well with the athletic ability and quickness that he possesses.
Now the Hornets will need to lock up Jefferson, as he is the driving force to their offense. Jordan has done an excellent job of acquiring talent, but now he has to figure out how to keep that talent long-term. It shouldn’t be too terribly hard with Jefferson, as he is very happy being the veteran leader with the Hornets.
Kemba Walker Extension Grade: B+