Kemba: "I'm a Hornet, and I'm planning on being a Hornet for a long time"

[bLACKpANTHER]

Quote

Kemba Walker has no desire to leave Charlotte—now or in free agency next year.

The Hornets point guard said he plans on remaining right where he's at "for a long time" in an interview with Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

"As far as seeing me in New York, I doubt it," Walker said. "I'm a Hornet, and I'm planning on being a Hornet for a long time; so, yeah, I'm not sure about that [New York]."
...
Walker will likely more than double his salary over the course of a long-term deal. The prospect of paying him more than $30 million a season in his 30s has to feel like a risk when he plays the NBA's deepest position and isn't considered among the best half-dozen players at his position.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2786292-kemba-walker-doubts-hell-join-knicks-plans-to-stay-with-hornets-a-long-time

First: I like what Walker is saying but he's not honestly gunna say - "I'm planning on leaving next year if we don't make a playoff run this season."

Second: What the hell is the author trying to say - the PG is SUPER deep with talent and then tries to slight Kemba for not being in the top 6 in the league!? Those points are contradicting (and inaccurate).
The top PGs are Steph, Russ, Kyrie, CP3, Wall, Lillard and Lowry. I will give him Steph, Russ and Kyrie but the rest are not run away by any means. CP3 is awesome but his age is a huge factor. I wouldn't even think about trading Kemba for CP3 right now. As for Lowry, Lillard and Wall - let's see how they stack up to Cardiac Kemba:

Wall's durability and TO ratio are questions.
Dame is obviously reliaed upon a ton for his team.
Lowry is great too but is not the #1 on his own team like the other 3 are.
Kemba doesn't get the rebs/ast totals like the others do but plays the Most games, Doesn't turn it over AND is 2nd in points, FG% and 3pt%.

I would say Kemba is in the top 5, and for sure top 6:
Steph, Russ, Kyrie, Dame, Walker, Lowry

[Zaximus]

I'd put Kemba in top 5/6 as well when you factor in things like age/durability.   It's even easier to come to that conclusion when you add the intangibles to the equation.     Hornets fans will homer over Kemba, but non-fans haven't watched enough to see how great he is.    And if he had the supporting cast that some of those above had, who knows.

[Shocker]

Kemba is a great player and wants to stay in Charlotte by all indications.  That's rare, I hope we do all we can to resign him.

[tondi]

He's getting the max, or right at it, no matter where he ends up.  There are plenty of guys who are going to be getting that kind of money in the future. 

[Cuttinedge]

I’d take Lowry off the top 6 especially when he plays the cavs & LeBron in the playoffs.

never seen anyone  go into a shell so bad against one team year after year 

[JakeDel5674]

10 hours ago, Cuttinedge said:

I’d take Lowry off the top 6 especially when he plays the cavs & LeBron in the playoffs.

never seen anyone  go into a shell so bad against one team year after year 

Yeah, he and Demar poo their pants so hard when they see that 23 on the other team it's ridiculous. 

[djp14]

20 hours ago, tondi said:

He's getting the max, or right at it, no matter where he ends up.  There are plenty of guys who are going to be getting that kind of money in the future. 

I don't know. Kemba is kind of a 2nd tier star. I'd guess that the Hornets are the only team that considers him as a "max contract" guy. And even then, I'd be surprised if we offer him that.

Either way, I expect him to re-sign here. This team doesn't look like they're planning a re-build anytime soon.

[tondi]

4 hours ago, djp14 said:

I don't know. Kemba is kind of a 2nd tier star. I'd guess that the Hornets are the only team that considers him as a "max contract" guy. And even then, I'd be surprised if we offer him that.

Either way, I expect him to re-sign here. This team doesn't look like they're planning a re-build anytime soon.

I basically agree and don't think most teams would offer him max, or near max, money but the Hornets will and I could see a desperate team with a ton of cap space throwing 30mil at Kemba.  Take the Knicks for example.  They would do it in a heartbeat if they didn't have a bigger name lined up.

[carpanfan96]

6 hours ago, djp14 said:

I don't know. Kemba is kind of a 2nd tier star. I'd guess that the Hornets are the only team that considers him as a "max contract" guy. And even then, I'd be surprised if we offer him that.

Either way, I expect him to re-sign here. This team doesn't look like they're planning a re-build anytime soon.

If you go off advanced metrics like ORPG and Wins which most teams use, Kemba was the 15th best player in the NBA. His Market is the reason most don't know about him or his play. He's easily a top 6 PG and a top 15 NBA player. 

[tondi]

Part of its the market and part of it is how Kemba continues to improve every season.  He's kind of snuck up on the league, I think, since he was a bit underwhelming the first couple of years.   But you've got to hand it to him, despite a team thats been all over the place during his time in Charlotte he's gotten better and better.  How many players do we see basically plateau after their first few seasons?  Especially guys who played three years in college.  Kemba has kind of defied expectations in a number of ways and the leagues just now catching on. 

[Zaximus]

You can't put a stat on his competitiveness and the fact he won't give up, even if the team is super bad.     The numbers show he's a top 15-20 player and then the intangibles, etc.    I'd trust Kemba in a playoff game with the ball to get those points you needed, and I don't know how you put a value on that.  

[bLACKpANTHER]

He's won back-to-back NBA sportsmanship awards for a reason.. the rest of the guys in the league know he dat dude..