Report: Kemba Walker to join Knicks after buyout with Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Kemba Walker is going home to New York.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday morning that the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a buyout. Assuming he clears waivers, Woj reports Walker will sign with the New York Knicks.
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The New York Post's Marc Berman, citing a source, tweeted Wednesday morning that the "Knicks feel Kemba Walker, if his body is right, still is All-Star level player. Needed OKC to buy him out as no trade market at his salary."
It's pretty remarkable that Walker is being bought out considering he had two years remaining on a max contract. Walker was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Oklahoma City Thunder in late June after spending two seasons with the C's.
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Walker reportedly had interest in signing with the Knicks as a free agent in the summer of 2019, but he ultimately chose to join the Celtics. Injuries prevented him from being an elite player for Boston on a consistent basis.
The veteran point guard going to New York will certainly make the Celtics-Knicks games a little more interesting during the 2021-22 season.
Walker averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Celtics last season. If healthy, he could form a talented quartet with Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle, recently signed wing Evan Fournier and 2019 No. 3 overall draft pick RJ Barrett.
