The Pistons are likely holding onto Kemba Walker to see if he might have any value in a potential trade, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes in a mailbag column. There have been rumors since late June of a buyout agreement for Walker, who was acquired from the Knicks in a trade that was agreed upon on draft night but couldn’t be finalized until the moratorium lifted.
There’s little chance that Walker will play for Detroit, but with training camp almost six weeks away, there’s no urgency to complete a buyout. If the Pistons need to open a spot on their 20-man camp roster, a buyout deal can be done at any time, but for now the team is waiting to see if his $9.2MM contract could be a trade asset.
The Hornets have reportedly shown an interest in bringing back Walker, who was a star in Charlotte for eight seasons. He has been slowed by knee soreness and played just 37 games for New York last season.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Isaiah Stewart is a “heavy favorite” to be the Pistons‘ starting center again this season, Langlois adds in the same piece. Stewart was used mainly at power forward in Summer League, playing alongside rookie center Jalen Duren. Langlois notes that Duren will need playing time this season, but it may be hard to get at the NBA level with Stewart, Kelly Olynyk, Marvin Bagley III and Nerlens Noel in the same frontcourt. Langlois suggests that Duren may see some time in the G League while he develops his NBA skills.
- The Bulls will only have 14 nationally televised games — seven on ESPN, three on TNT and four on NBA TV — which Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic sees as a disappointing number for a playoff team in a major market. Examining Chicago’s schedule, Mayberry notes that a lot of conference tests will come early, with 12 of the Bulls’ first 13 games against Eastern teams.
- The Bucks will be on national TV 32 times, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, including their season opener October 20 at Philadelphia that will feature a matchup of perennial MVP candidates Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
Pistons gotta drop Olynyk and get what they can get. The guy is a backup on a good team or a starter on a bad team.
Bulls could use his skill set. Maybe swap Coby White for him?
Uhoh. Jimmy TwoTimes is back again.
Stewart is an old school PF to me. He and Duren will make a great bigs combo. I’d start both of them right away. Duren is a big body. He can handle starting. I believe he has a big future in Detroit.
Bucks on Nat’l TV 32 times?
The good: no having to listen to Lisa Byington and Marques Johnson.
The bad: having to listen to Jeff/Stan Van Gundy, Marc Jackson, Hubie Brown types instead.
Marques Johnson is 1 of the best in the league along w/ Brevin Knight (Mem) & Stacey King (Chi). He’s slightly below those 2 tbh but still really good
That’s your opinion, and you’re entitled to it.
No.
Jeff VG and Hubie are much better than any new person kissing new age butt. They actually know something about basketball.
…and they never let you forget how smart they are…
Walker, Olidipo and Lowery would make a great last hurrah trio.
I thought it was reported on this site a while ago that it was a done deal he was getting released and signed by the clippers
Assuming you’re referring to Kemba, I don’t think he’s been linked to the Clippers at all this summer — certainly not on our site. The Woj report from June 30 (linked above) made it seem like a buyout was imminent, but I guess if both sides know what it would take to get it done and Walker doesn’t have a deal with a new team set in stone yet, there’s no rush to officially complete it.