NBA trade rumors: 7 potential Kemba Walker trades
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in desperate need of change after dropping nine of their last 12 contests. They’ve almost fallen to fourth in the East, they’re the league’s 29th-ranked defense, and Isaiah Thomas certainly hasn’t helped in that regard, with the Cavs going 3-6 since he returned.
Kemba Walker isn’t a defensive stalwart by any means, but he’s not as undersized and is much better than IT on that end, all while being less injury-prone. He’s also under contract for one more season than Thomas, which would be a comfort since LeBron James will hit unrestricted free agent this summer.
With so much uncertainty in the air, having an All-Star caliber point guard under contract through 2019 would give Cleveland time to navigate these tricky waters. If LeBron leaves, they could rebuild around Kemba or move him elsewhere to jumpstart the next chapter. If LeBron stays, the Cavs could keep him and build around the two of them without having to overpay to keep IT.
Channing Frye would be needed to balance salary, and both he and Thomas represent cap relief as expiring contracts. As such, the Hornets would need a blue chip asset to make this deal worth their while. The Cavs don’t have any young players fitting that description, which means Charlotte would inquire about that Brooklyn Nets pick.
That’s a lot to give up for a great but not elite point guard like Kemba Walker, even if the Nets continue their upward ascent. The pick will still likely fall somewhere in the top 10, and though that’s hardly the central rebuild piece Cavs fans make it out to be, it has the potential to be more valuable if the Nets slide.
Cleveland will counter with its own first round selection, but that wouldn’t be enough. The Cavs might talk themselves into keeping Thomas, hoping he clicks with the team moving forward and that King James finds that infamous switch come playoff time to overshadow all those defensive concerns.
They could even try to substitute J.R. Smith or Iman Shumpert in for IT to try and savor as much offensive firepower as possible, since either one paired with Channing Frye would be enough to work financially if Marvin Williams or Jeremy Lamb is included.
That might be a hard bargain for the Hornets to give up Kemba and Williams (or Lamb), but that might be the master stroke needed to compensate Cleveland for losing that Nets pick.
However, the Hornets would probably rather have Thomas’ expiring deal than Shumpert ($11 million player option for 2018-19) or Smith ($14.7 million salary for 2018-19, $15.7 million non-guaranteed in 2019-20).
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In any case, if the goal is to make a run at another championship and re-sign LeBron this summer, Kemba could be a safer, potential upgrade at the point over Thomas — defensively, at least. If the Cavs believe that to be the case, the Nets pick has to be on the table, and if it is, Charlotte would jump at the chance to acquire it.