Kemba Walker is 'tired of not being in the playoffs'
Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker is sick of wasting his prime.
Walker is one of the NBA's premier point guards, but he's qualified for the playoffs just twice. Both times, his team was eliminated in the first round, which only adds to the frustration.
"At this point, I want to win. I want to be in the playoffs,” Walker told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “I’m tired of not being in the playoffs. ... I hate watching them on TV. I’ve been there twice in seven years, and it’s just not fun.”
Barring a miracle, the Hornets will miss the playoffs yet again this season despite Walker averaging 23 points and six assists. He's steadily improved his game every year since he was drafted ninth overall in 2011 to the point where he's a two-time All-Star, but the supporting cast has largely failed him.
Walker got his first taste of the playoffs in 2014 in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat. He rode shotgun to Al Jefferson as the main pieces of a 44-win team that looked to be on the rise, but were easily outmatched by the Big Three in South Beach.
His next postseason chance came in 2016, when Walker was crowned as the go-to player alongside a host of capable role players. Charlotte won 48 games that season, and pushed the Heat to seven games before being dethroned for a second time by Dwyane Wade.
Since then, the Hornets have rode the treadmill of mediocrity. Lavish contracts awarded to average players left the team without financial flexibility and without much room to improve. The idea of attaching Walker as a sweetener to offloading other salaries was floated at the trade deadline, although that didn't come to fruition.
“I’ve always felt like I’m a winning player. Like I deserved it to be in the playoffs – to be battling,” Walker said. “That’s what it will be all about in the future.”
Walker has one year left on his team-friendly contract, and his future with the club will depend on the next general manager's plans.
“Whenever we get a new GM, we’ll see what direction he wants to go,” Walker said, “and I’ll make the best decision for me.”