The New York Knicks didn’t just strike out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom signed with the Brooklyn Nets this past offseason.
They also whiffed on Kemba Walker, who evidently thought long and hard about taking his talents to the Big Apple before ultimately joining the Boston Celtics.
“To be honest, yes. Yes. Very serious, very,” Walker said this week on The Ringer’s “R2C2″ podcast when asked whether he seriously considered the Knicks in free agency. ” … Before Boston actually came along, the Knicks were one of my top priorities, actually, because I was thinking they were gonna get another player. But it didn’t work out.”
Was there ever a chance @KembaWalker would play for the Knicks?
Yes! He explains what happened to @CC_Sabathia and @RyanRuocco on the @R2C2 podcast. pic.twitter.com/U82fUFFul4
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 6, 2020
Walker ended up with the Celtics on a four-year, $141 million max contract after a sign-and-trade that sent Terry Rozier to the Charlotte Hornets on a three-year, $58 million deal.
Walker, a University of Connecticut product who spent his first eight seasons with the Hornets, has battled a knee injury this season, forcing him into a minutes restriction of late. But the 30-year-old still has been productive when healthy, and the Celtics remain among the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
So, while things didn’t come together with the Knicks like Walker perhaps envisioned upon hitting the open market. It’s safe to say he landed in a good situation with Boston, a dark horse contender for this season’s NBA Finals.
