Kemba Walker Details How He Felt Leaving Hornets After Lowball Offer

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Kemba Walker
Walker felt weird moving on from the only team he's ever known.

After eight full seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, point guard Kemba Walker decided to walk away from the team and joined the Boston Celtics on a four-year, $140 million deal. Walker was up for a supermax deal of up to 5 years at $220 million, although in the end, the Hornets didn't even come close to that offer. Instead, they offered Walker five years, $160 million which wasn't nearly enough to keep him with the franchise. The Hornets will be going into full rebuild mode because of this loss, while Walker goes to a playoff contender in the Celtics. Despite the upgrade in team, Walker explained how hard it was to leave in an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic.

"Tough days, f--king tough days, I can't even lie," Walker said. "Excuse my language. It was difficult. I couldn't see myself just being on another team. It was just hard. That's all I've known was Charlotte. Definitely some tough times. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get the offer that I wanted, and maybe not close to it, because of cap space."

Kemba Walker Details How He Felt Leaving Hornets After Lowball Offer
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Walker also got to speak about his predecessor in Boston, Kyrie Irving, and whether or not he feels any pressure to perform up to standards of a player like Kyrie. As you would expect, Walker is more focused on being his own player.

"I'm not trying to go in and think that I have to be better than Kyrie last year," Walker explained. "It happens. Great players go to teams all the time and it just doesn't work. It just didn't work for him. Kyrie is one of the best players we have in this world. It was just unfortunate, an unfortunate season."

Only time will tell whether or not Walker can lead the Celtics to a deep playoff run or if they will be destined for a first or second round exit.


About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!
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