Back in 2020, then-Washington Wizards guard John Wall seemed to be a completely immovable asset. He hadn't played for the entirety of the 2019-20 season due to injuries. He was in the midst of a massive four-year, $171 million contract that ranked among the highest in average value throughout the whole entire league. There was uncertainty as to how effective he'd be upon his eventual return, whenever that would take place.
And yet the Wizards were still able to find a suitor, taking Russell Westbrook out of Houston in a deal that also sent a first-round pick to the Rockets. It took a lot of work to move Wall and may not have been a move that necessarily improved the immediate outlook for Washington, but the seemingly impossible task of dealing Wall had been done. Around the same time, Daryl Morey was able to unload Al Horford and his albatross of a contract from the 76ers. Moves like these can be made, no matter how hard it's perceived to be.
For the Knicks, then, it might seem like unloading Kemba Walker's contract would be an easier task. After all, the 31-year-old isn't making an exorbitant amount — not to say that two years for $17.9 million is insubstantial — and was shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc on a healthy sample size before the Knicks decided to bench him altogether.
The latest report doesn't seem to promising for his prospects, though. According to Matt Moore of Action Network, who released an article filled with great nuggets regarding potential trade buzz, there's not a whole lot of movement in the case of Walker:
There is no interest league-wide in taking on Kemba Walker according to multiple sources. Walker was benched to try and kickstart the Knicks, a move that has failed, but the league consensus is that Walker’s knees represent too much of a risk even if his play with New York and Boston was more about situation.
Walker had downplayed how serious his knee issues were, discussing how it affected him when he first started out in New York,
"Last season, not much to be honest, not my knee," he said (via Adam Zagoria of Forbes). "I was feeling pretty good. I just had a little hiccup in the playoffs, which sucked obviously. Nobody likes to be injured, especially at that moment. But I felt pretty good all year, to be honest."
And though he played nearly every game of his Knicks stint before getting benched, he just wasn't as effective as the team had expected him to be. Whether the knee was affecting that or the fit was just wrong, like Moore suggests, is to be determined by whichever potential suitors out there explore the idea of adding teh veteran point guard... but things aren't looking too hopeful.
It hasn't been the homecoming he's hoped for, and it may not be over too soon.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram