105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher has reported throughout the offseason that Walker is a key target for Dallas in free agency. Stein agreed with Fish on the Ben and Skin Show last week, saying: "They're going to swing for the fences because that's what Mark Cuban wants to do," Stein said on 105.3 The Fan. "I think it's fair to say that if Kemba Walker doesn't go back to Charlotte then the Mavs have as good a chance as any to steal him away. If you said name the team Charlotte is most concerned about it would not be the Lakers, it would not be the Knicks, it would be the Mavericks.
"So, I do think the Mavs will have their day and have their say with Kemba Walker, and maybe they're going to get him."
Walker spoke to reporters about his impending free agency recently and reiterated that the Hornets are his first priority but it doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion that he'll stay in Charlotte.
“How can they not be?’ Walker said about Charlotte being his first priority, via Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “I don’t understand how they can not be my first priority. I’ve been here eight years. They were the team that drafted me.
“I don’t know if I’ll sign back with them. I’m not sure. But they are my first priority.”
Walker said he plans to meet with other teams when free agency begins on June 30 and will trust his Dallas-friendly agent Jeff Schwartz. That's good news to the ears of Mavericks fans, 105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher said at the time.
“If it doesn’t work out (with the Hornets), I’m definitely prepared to play somewhere else. But I’d love to be in Charlotte.”
“Yeah I would take less,” Walker said, via Nick Carboni of WCNC. “Sure, why not? I would take less."
Walker was voted to the ALL-NBA third team, meaning that he's now eligible to receive a five-year contract extension worth about $221 million from the Hornets if he opts to stay in Charlotte. The Hornets could have offered him about $30 million less if he wasn’t selected and failed to earn the criteria for the largest possible contract.
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak previously said the team plans to do everything they can to keep the three-time All-Star. Charlotte doesn't have to offer Walker the super-max, and could simply offer him a five-year, $190 million deal he could have received even if he didn't make an All-NBA team.
So what does this mean for the Mavericks and other teams who wish to court Walker this offseason? Should Walker leave Charlotte, he'd only be able to sign a four-year, $141 million deal. A difference of one year and $80 million. That sounds like a big mountain of cash for the Mavs to overcome, but Fish cautions that it puts Charlotte in a tough spot, as well.
Kemba isn't Dallas' only target, of course. But the Mavs' attraction to him, combined with the fact he's represented by Schwartz, combined with some realities of what the likes of Kevin Durant will say when Dallas calls (that is, "No'') merits study of the situation on our part ... and on the Mavs' part.