![]() "It's been really tough, especially because over the course of my career, I've played so many games when I've been healthy. "It's tough," Walker said of having to watch playoff games, after Boston's season-ending 123-109 loss in Brooklyn in Game 5. ![]() He then missed the final two games of Boston's first-round series loss to the Brooklyn Nets with a bone bruise in that same left knee, an injury unrelated to his prior issues. Still, when Walker returned to the court, he continued to be an effective player for the Celtics, averaging 19.3 points and 4.9 assists in 43 games. He went on a 12-week strengthening program for his knee after helping Boston reach the Eastern Conference finals inside the NBA's bubble in Orlando, Florida - a plan that stretched into the start of last season when the NBA unexpectedly began earlier than he and the Celtics had anticipated. Walker, who made the All-Star team in his first season in Boston, spent last season on a plan to manage his left knee, which gave him trouble for most of the 2020 calendar year. The Celtics traded Walker to the Thunder as part of a pivot to create salary-cap flexibility in 2022, as well as to better balance a roster that had heavily swung in the direction of spending resources on perimeter players, just two years after signing him to a four-year, $141 million max contract after Walker spent his first eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. The Knicks will be counting on both Walker and Fournier to boost an offense that struggled mightily in New York's five-game loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. He now will get to carry on that history at MSG with the Knicks, with whom he should slot right into the starting lineup as a significant upgrade over his predecessor, Elfrid Payton, and next to fellow Knicks newcomer and former Celtics teammate Evan Fournier in New York's backcourt. He then built his legend as one of the greatest players in the history of the University of Connecticut's storied program by leading the Huskies to five wins in five days for the Big East tournament title at MSG in 2011 - only to follow that up by leading Connecticut to its third NCAA title. Walker, meanwhile, now gets to go home to New York, where he starred first at Rice High School - where he once played against new teammate Derrick Rose, then with Chicago's Simeon High School, at Madison Square Garden. They also have Theo Maledon, a second-round pick from last year's draft. Budding star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a five-year max extension earlier this week, sources told Wojnarowski, while the Thunder also have developed Lu Dort into one of the better defensive guards in the league and drafted Josh Giddey and Tre Mann in the first round last week. Now the Thunder can use the roster spot created by Walker's departure to give playing time to their fleet of young guards as they continue their rebuild. Oklahoma City, which has built up a war chest of first-round picks over the next several years, then turned that 16th pick - one of three in this year's draft - into two more future ones when the Houston Rockets acquired the selection to take Turkish center Alperen Sengun. The Thunder acquired Walker, 31, from the Boston Celtics in June in what was the first major move made by Brad Stevens after he went from coaching the team to replacing Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations, getting the 16th pick in last week's NBA draft while also moving on from center Al Horford in that deal. ![]() He can now slide into New York's roughly $10 million in remaining salary-cap space, per ESPN's Bobby Marks. Thunder general manager Sam Presti and Walker's agents with Excel Sports Management, Jeff Schwartz and Javon Phillips, worked to come to an agreement on a buyout of the two years and $74 million remaining on Walker's contract. NBA, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunderįour-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a contract buyout Wednesday morning, paving the way for the New York City icon to sign with his hometown New York Knicks, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Sources: Kemba Walker to join New York Knicks after guard, Oklahoma City Thunder agree to buyout You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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