Charlotte Hornets: 3 players most likely to be traded in 2018-19
By Luke Askew
1. Kemba Walker
It’s painful to read, but Kemba Walker is the most likely member of the Charlotte Hornets to be traded in 2018-19.
This is no slight to Kemba, as the 28-year-old guard has been nothing short of fantastic for the Hornets, but sometimes that’s just how the NBA works.
Walker’s extremely team-friendly contract ($12 million per season) is set to expire after the 2018-19 season, making him an unrestricted free agent next summer. He’ll be 29 years old when the 2019 free agency period rolls around and unfortunately for Hornets fans, he might just decide he wants to continue his NBA career elsewhere.
Walker has been far and away the Hornets best player for the last two seasons, averaging 22.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game (and earning two All-Star appearances) during that stretch.
Unfortunately, the Hornets have been mired in mediocrity. Despite Walker’s incredible play, the Hornets finished their last two seasons with a 36-46 record each year, failing to make the playoffs.
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This will be the Hornets’ first season under new head coach James Borrego. Maybe things will start to click for Charlotte in the terrible Eastern Conference and they’ll be able to re-sign Kemba. However, the flip side to that is maybe things won’t go as well as hoped and the Hornets will try to get something in return for Walker near the deadline instead of risking him walking away for nothing.