3 offseason Kemba Walker trades the Knicks should consider

Walker’s second homecoming

Yeah, so, this trade is definitely the least sexy of the bunch but also, in my opinion, the most likely of the three to actually happen. It fills an immediate need for Charlotte, sends Walker to a playoff-caliber team, and the Knicks could get back some semblance of value in the trade.

The Hornets’ second-rounder is currently owned by New York but has a top-55 protection on it so unless Charlotte wins out for the rest of the season, the pick stays with the organization.

In this case, the Hornets would just lift the protection, which would give the Knicks two second-round selections in this year’s draft.

The top-55 protection would be lifted by next year but New York currently has seven possible second-round picks in 2023 alongside two first-rounders…they don’t need this pick next year.

As it stands today, the Knicks would then have two picks in the mid-40s and could either use both selections and continue to develop their young core in the G-League or they could consolidate the two picks to get them back up into the late first or early second round.

Charlotte does this trade because right now, they are weak at the point guard position. They have LaMelo Ball but beyond him, they don’t have any other true PGs on the roster. The team is currently using Terry Rozier as their starting shooting guard and are taking him off the court early in the rotation to just insert him back in with the second unit.

Trading for Walker allows for them to keep Rozier with the starters more often and also gives the Hornets a nice scoring punch off the bench.

Walker also fits a lot better with Charlotte’s run-and-gun offense. In fact, he’d fit in much better than he did with Thibodeau’s slow-paced iso-ball offense that the coach has run this season.

Sidenote – as it stands today, the Hornets would have to make roster adjustments in order to take on Walker’s contract so this trade wouldn’t be possible unless other moves are made beforehand.

This trade could also be a part of a three-team deal if need be to make the salaries work. Neither of the two teams would have to move mountains to make Walker’s nine million contract fit into Charlotte’s roster next year.