Trade Grade: Kemba Walker traded to the Pistons in a three-team deal

The 2022 NBA Draft has officially concluded. In every draft there always is a trade that occurs on draft day. One of the biggest trades involves one of my favorite players in the NBA Kemba Walker. The teams involved are the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, and Charlotte Hornets. The details of the trade are down below.

New York Knicks Acquire: 2025 1st Round Pick via Milwaukee Bucks (Top 4 protected)
Detroit Pistons Acquire: C Jalen Duren (13th Overall Pick), PG Kemba Walker
Charlotte Hornets Acquire: 2023 1st Round Pick via Denver Nuggets (Top 14 protected until 2025), 2023 2nd Round Pick via Utah Jazz, 2023 2nd Round Pick via New York Knicks, 2023 2nd Round Pick (Higher selection of either Dallas or Miami), and a 2024 2nd Round Pick

New York Knicks Side

Not a surprise that the Knicks got rid of Walker. His time was done when both agreed that he would not play at the end of last season. The Knicks making this move was mainly done for salary reasons. Trading Walker saves the Knicks 18 million dollars. It is clear that the Knicks are trying to get another superstar to pair with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. The question is, who will that player be? Is it going to be Kyrie Irving, Jalen Brunson, or anybody else? Time will tell. At least they get a 1st round pick in the trade as well. Its too bad it is the Milwaukee Bucks pick, which will likely be a later draft choice.

Detroit Pistons Side

I can make this simpler they traded Jerami Grant in exchange for Jalen Duren. I like it as salary wise the Pistons will save money, and they get a younger player in Duren. The Pistons needed help on defense and to surround players around Cade Cunningham. Duren is a prospect that may need a year or two to develop, but this is great value as I saw him as a Top 10 pick.

As for acquiring Kemba Walker, it looks like he won’t be a Piston for long. Reports have recently come out that the Pistons are planning to buy out Walker. Thus making him a free agent and I wonder where Kemba will play next year. Especially, as he is one of my favorite players that played with the Charlotte Hornets. Speaking of which…

Charlotte Hornets Side

When I first heard of this deal, I will admit I was not happy as the Hornets desperately needed a center and defensive help. But then I realized the Hornets also had the 15th pick and they chose C Mark Williams out of Duke University. Hopefully the move pans out, but they traded the 13th pick in the draft for pretty much next to nothing. The second round picks are mainly throw aways and are the true definition of lottery tickets. The 1st round pick is likely going to transfer for this year as it is the Denver Nuggets pick. Trust me the Nuggets should be better once Jamal Murray is healthy next year. I don’t hate the Hornets got more draft picks as they can use it in potential trades, but they could have gotten a lot more in trading the 13th pick.

Grades for Kemba Walker trade
New York Knicks: C+
Detroit Pistons: B+
Charlotte Hornets: D

I think the Pistons clearly win this deal as they get a young prospect who should have gone in the Top 10 of the 2022 NBA Draft. The Knicks get out of a bad contract and they cleared a bunch of money for there salary cap. Oh and the Knicks also get a 1st Round Draft pick which is a plus as well (Even though it will likely be a late pick). The Hornets made a bit of a head scratching move, but at least they get more draft picks. Overall great move by Pistons GM Troy Weaver and Knicks GM Scott Perry. For the Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak, interesting move and hopefully this pays off for all teams.