Knicks Trade Rumors: Designing an ideal Kemba Walker trade

The Unfavorable Contracts

If the New York Knicks are going to acquire Kemba Walker, then they’ll need to take back an unfavorable contract. That’s a daunting possibility, but it’s one that the Knicks must accept as the cost of doing business.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, there are four players whom Charlotte is hoping to unload: Nicolas Batum, Dwight Howard, Marvin Williams, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

"The Hornets had already made available Nicolas Batum (four years, $100 million), Dwight Howard (two years, $47 million), Marvin Williams (three years, $42 million) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (three years, $39 million), league sources said, but those players and their contracts are largely unattractive in the marketplace."

The presence of four options makes thisa more compelling

There’s a chance that the Hornets would only be willing to trade Walker if it meant unloading Batum or Howard’s contracts. Both are owed upwards of $20 million per season, with Howard being paid $23,819,725 in 2018-19 and Batum being signed through 2020-21.

If the Knicks have to take on one of those two monster contracts, then Howard’s would be far more ideal due to the fact that he’d be off the books in 2019.

If Charlotte is willing to negotiate a deal that wouldn’t include Batum or Howard, however, a trade would become even more likely on the Knicks’ behalf. Kidd-Gilchrist and Williams are signed long-term, but they’d actually fit what the Knicks are attempting to build.

If it’s Howard, Kidd-Gilchrist, or Williams, the Knicks can afford to take on another contract. Batum simply can’t be a part of the equation.