Kemba's staying no matter what, right or wrong?

[BobsBuddy]

MJ will make sure Kemba stays no matter what so lets trade some players to get better around him now we're in 7th in NBA East.
7162579 Lamb+ Batum to Chicago for Parker
7152587 MKG+Hgomez+ Williams to Memphis for Gasol,Mack and Rabb
Start Gasol,Parker,Bridges,Monk and Kemba...Reserves Cody,Kam,Rabb,Bacon,ParkerT...BIZ,Donte, Mack

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Charlotte has been a low-level or middle-of-the-road team since the second franchise came to town for the following reasons:

* Poor leadership from the owners (first Robert Johnson, now Michael Jordan).
* A history of using first-round picks on decent-floor, low-ceiling players from big-name schools, particularly if the player has a good run in the NCAA tournament (Kemba Walker being the only one who has panned out).
* Going from one organization extreme (not wanting to pay players) to the other extreme (overpaying for bit players such as Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller) in building a team.
* Having no community engagement or excitement among its product (I've met members of the Hornets' marketing communications team and they seemed rather clueless on strategies for promoting this franchise).

Some serious, high quality posts there!

I want to quibble a bit about the draft. Sure some of the bad picks (Frank, MKG, etc.) fit that pattern really well. Other bad picks seem to scream lack of preparation or poor decision making when the unexpected occurs (Noah, Malik). In either case though that does feel like an ownership issue based on what we know.

That last point is super important. Ironically I used to have more insight into that side of the org back in the day, and know that it wasn't problem free even for the original team. It's too bad to hear that though.

[Najee12]

I want to quibble a bit about the draft. Sure some of the bad picks (Frank, MKG, etc.) fit that pattern really well. Other bad picks seem to scream lack of preparation or poor decision making when the unexpected occurs (Noah, Malik). In either case though that does feel like an ownership issue based on what we know.

The problem is when you are building a franchise with no name recognition or history, you have to make the right decisions in the draft. With the George Shinn-era Hornets, the strategy was to draft players with star potential (Rex Chapman, Kendall Gill, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning). With the Robert Johnson-Michael Jordan regimes, it seems the strategy is to draft decent-floor, low-ceiling players. As a result, the second generation Hornets have missed on practically every selection.

[dmutombo321]

The club's dilemma is that no other team is going to take those marginal players with poor contracts off their hands. They're stuck with Batum until 2021. It's not Walker's fault that management handed out all those bad deals and ruined their payroll. But that's the position they're in.

As a person who was a sports journalist who covered the Hornets in the 1990s for a North Carolina newspaper and has followed the NBA for decades, I disagree. All NBA players have trade value, positive or negative. Like any asset acquisition or sell, the questions become what does the seller want in return, what is the buyer willing to give up and whether all parties can agree to the terms.

Nicolas Batum obviously is a negative asset ($25 million-per-year contract with seventh-man production), but it is not unmovable as we have seen teams move players with bad contracts recently (see Ryan Anderson and another former Charlotte acquisition, Timofey Mozgov) or historically. The question is what does Charlotte want in return for the asset and what is it willing to do to get rid of the asset. Offering Frank Kaminsky as a "sweetener" as reported a few weeks ago only makes other teams laugh at the offer and question Charlotte's poor evaluation of talent.

The alternative is keeping Batum, who is having a negative influence on the team's present-day and long-term horizon at a tune of $60 million-plus over the remaining life of his contract. Think like a business owner or a department head of a major division that has a declining asset: Is it worth giving up a first-round pick or some young prospect to get rid of that $60 million-plus albatross? Or getting back nothing in return (expiring contracts, second-round picks) to get rid of that declining asset? To me, the answer is yes.

Charlotte just needs to take a loss on Batum and can't expect anything of value in return. The goal is to get rid of the bad asset, not ask for something in return because the Hornets are negotiating from a position of weakness.

Charlotte trading its best player, is in the franchise's best interest long term if it hopes to be a contender in the East, as opposed to the perennial fringe playoff team it is presently.

Charlotte has been a low-level or middle-of-the-road team since the second franchise came to town for the following reasons:

* Poor leadership from the owners (first Robert Johnson, now Michael Jordan).
* A history of using first-round picks on decent-floor, low-ceiling players from big-name schools, particularly if the player has a good run in the NCAA tournament (Kemba Walker being the only one who has panned out).
* Going from one organization extreme (not wanting to pay players) to the other extreme (overpaying for bit players such as Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller) in building a team.
* Having no community engagement or excitement among its product (I've met members of the Hornets' marketing communications team and they seemed rather clueless on strategies for promoting this franchise).

Whether you keep, trade or let Walker leave in free agency, all of those major organizational issues remain. None of them have anything to do with Walker so I don't see how trading Walker somehow makes those things go away.

A new team is also in Kemba's best interest if he ever aspires to enjoy deep playoff runs or to ever contend for a title, as its not happening here in Charlotte with this roster if he resigns.

So you're admitting Charlotte's problems are based on its front office, which could be the reason Walker leaves. Whether or not Walker stays, Charlotte still will have a team filled with bad contracts for bad players from which it is not willing to divest. The solution is to get rid of the bad assets (Batum, Biyombo, Kidd-Gilchrist, Williams and Zeller) and build around the good asset (Walker). But even if Walker leaves, Charlotte still has to get rid of the bad assets and the bad organizational culture.

Terrific commentary in both those previous posts Najee and cogent assessment.

We see eye to eye on the vast majority of the points you raise and you'll get no disagreement from me on the following:

--There is poor FO and ownership leadership (The Shinn/Bass generation one Hornets were a far better managed club than this group despite Shinn having perhaps the lightest wallet in the league)
--Evidence points to MJ routinely meddling in personnel and roster decisions behind the scenes to the detriment of the franchise.
--The team has a terrible habit of drafting decent-floor, low-ceiling players and handing out bad contracts to veterans
--Any contract in the league, even Batum's is of course theoretically tradable if a team is willing to add sufficient outgoing assets (although I'd prefer to let him drop off the books or wait until he's an expiring vs. surrendering future draft picks to unload him early)
--The most optimal time to trade Walker would have been last season or last offseason from a position of strength when he still had a full year at only $12 million remaining on his deal. Now they'll be lucky to get pennies on the dollar which is why names like DSJ are being mentioned.

Areas where our opinions diverge:

---"Bad organizations remain bad organizations even if they trade away their best assets, because that bad organizational core remains....even if Walker leaves, Charlotte still has to get rid of the bad assets" ////

Even if Walker were to de dealt and they are unable to unload any dead weight contracts with him, at least over the next 2-3 years while waiting for those deals to drop off the books, they'd be accumulating high lottery picks in the meantime. Of course there's no guarantee they make the right choices with those high picks but the odds are much greater that they successfully draft a franchise caliber player in the top 5 than in the 9-16 range where the find themselves year after year when treading water as a fringe playoff team.

History is rife with rebuilding teams miffing draft picks and remaining bad for years despite their efforts (i.e. your aforementioned example of the T-Wolves screwing up their own lotto picks, the picks they got for Garnett and the additional picks they received subsequently dealing Jefferson two season's later). However, there are also examples of teams who successfully built contenders through patiently waiting out the re-building process and stockpiling talent through the draft (the Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka OKC Core and this current Philly team)

---Trading Walker for spare parts will be just another example of the Hornets running a bad organization

Through a different lens it could also be argued that resigning a highly talented yet diminutive and speed-dependent PG on a long term deal that will pay him $30-$35million a year until he turns 34 years old to an existing capped out roster that's only been able to muster 36-40 wins on average could constitute an equally bad macro-organizational decision.

Any discussion about whether its better to keep Walker Vs. trading him should probably first be framed in the context as to what our hopes are as fans, as well as what MJ's objective is for the franchise;

For those folks who admire Walker's considerable talent/competitiveness, appreciate the fact that he's a class-act, enjoy watching him play, and are content with the status quo of the club continuing to be a .500ish middling fringe playoff team with a capped out roster that wont be materially different then what we have now, their desire to see Walker retained makes perfect sense. Likewise, if Jordan's objective is to retain Walker as the beloved face of the franchise to keep butts in the seats for business reasons, ensure a baseline level of attendance and avoid 2-3 seasons of 25 win basketball during a rebuild in return for accepting all but guaranteed continued mediocrity, then nobody can argue for his rationale in wanting to keep him either.

For the contingent of people like myself who are willing to tolerate 25 win basketball during a rebuild to at least have an outside shot at eventually assembling team capable of making deep playoff runs and contending in the East, advocating a Walker trade makes equally perfect sense and most in this camp were clamoring for Charlotte to pull the trigger on such a deal last year when they could have gotten a greater return (and they'd be three months away from the Zion/Barrett/Morant sweepstakes right now).

If the Hornets were to initiate a rebuild, the historical track record of the prior FO and ownership doesnt instill great confidence and yes, there is a risk they could make a series of poor draft decisions and end up like the late 2000s Twolves. But at least there would be hope for the team eventually ascending out of perpetual mediocrity to achieve some degree of relevancy, which is more than can be said about the club's current trajectory.

[Bassman]

Thouroughly enjoyed reading the commentaries guys. As usual DMutumbo and I are in nearly harmonic agreement. Ultimately the right deal would have to be available to trade Kemba, but it appears it doesn’t exist or the Hornets are head down determined to keep him.

One point I would add; yes the organization has been quite the flop in many ways. I saw an opening this season with Mitch and J.B., ushering in a new approach and perspective. I still believe they will have an impact on changing our approach. Will it be enough or successful? Time will tell. The constant is Jordan. I hope he has been willing to step back from the decision tree and let Mitch make the calls.

[Najee12]

Even if Walker were to be dealt and they are unable to unload any dead weight contracts with him, at least over the next 2-3 years while waiting for those deals to drop off the books, they'd be accumulating high lottery picks in the meantime. Of course there's no guarantee they make the right choices with those high picks but the odds are much greater that they successfully draft a franchise caliber player in the top 5 than in the 9-16 range where the find themselves year after year when treading water as a fringe playoff team.

Where Charlotte picks in the draft is not as important as who Charlotte chooses when it drafts. For a lot of the Robert Johnson/Michael Jordan history, Charlotte has drafted higher than the 9-16 range and the results have been equally poor. Emeka Okafor (2004) went No. 2; Raymond Felton (2005) went fifth; Adam Morrison (2006) was the No. 3 pick; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012) went second; Cody Zeller (2013) was the No.4 pick. That's five top five picks and four of them are/were journeymen (Okafor, Felton, Kidd-Gilchrist and Zeller) with Morrison being a bust.

Here is a list of the picks Charlotte made during this current franchise's history and here are the players I liked at that time of the draft:

2004 – No. 2 (Okafor); my choice – Luol Deng
2005 – No. 5 (Felton) and No. 13 (Sean May); my choice – package the picks to Atlanta, move up to select Chris Paul at No. 2
2006 – No. 3 (Morrison); my choice – Rudy Gay
2007 – Traded No. 8 pick (Brendan Wright) to Golden State for Jason Richardson
2008 – No. 9 (D.J. Augustin); my choice – Brook Lopez. No. 20 (Alexis Ajinça); my choice – Serge Ibaka

2009 – No. 12 (Gerald Henderson); my choice – Jeff Teague
2010 – Traded No. 16 pick (Luke Babbitt) in 2008 to Denver for the No. 20 pick (used to select Ajinça)
2011 – No. 7 (Bismack Biyombo); my choice – Kemba Walker. No. 9 – Walker; my choice – Klay Thompson
2012 – No. 2 (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist); my choice – Bradley Beal
2013 – No. 4 (Cody Zeller); my choice – Ben MacLemore

2014 – No. 9 (Noah Vonleh); my choice – Zach Lavine. No. 26 (P.J. Hairston); my choice – Bogdan Bogdanovich
2015 – No. 9 (Frank Kaminsky); my choice – Devin Booker
2016 – Traded No. 22 pick (Malachi Richardson) to Sacramento for Marco Bellini
2017 – No. 11 (Mailk Monk); my choice – Donovan Mitchell

The Bobcats/Hornets missed out on quality players throughout the first round. For instance, the team selected Ajinça in 2008 over the likes of Ryan Anderson (No. 21), George Hill (No. 25) and DeAndre Jordan (No. 35). What is ironic is Charlotte could have drafted one of the players on the board – Nicolas Batum (No. 25) – instead of acquiring him in 2015 at a premium price of a former lottery pick. Another player in that group – Courtney Lee (No. 22) – also became a Hornet years later.

Choosing Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2 in 2012 is inexcusable. The team was coming off the worst record by winning percentage in NBA history and needed to select a potential star player. Instead of selecting Beal or taking a boom-or-bust selection such as Damian Lillard or Andre Drummond, the Hornets selected a player with the upside of Tony Allen.

Selecting Kaminsky at No. 9 in 2015 is even more inexcusable, especially considering Boston reportedly offered four first-round picks for the pick. Even then, Charlotte should have selected Booker or Myles Turner, players seen as having star potential vs. Kaminsky projecting as a Spencer Hawes-level player.

There also is the issue of transactions that have come back to haunt the Hornets. The 2011 first-round pick Charlotte traded to Milwaukee along with Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston turns into Tobias Harris. That’s not counting scenarios where players such as Clint Capela were available when Charlotte had the No. 24 in the 2014 draft. Charlotte turning down four first-round picks for the No. 9 pick in 2015 is another pivtoal mistake.

All of the players I thought Charlotte should have chosen were based on being impact or star players, depending on the team’s position in the draft. Obviously, the MacLemore pick over Zeller in 2013 did not work out but it is very clear the Hornets could have drafted impact players to stars in the first round in most of these drafts.

[predators]

Really not a right answer. Letting Kemba go will make the team unwatchable. If we resign Kemba he will be in his 30s when this team has cap room \flexibility to add more pieces and will probably no longer be worth his contract. We need to learn to draft\develop players.

Personally I would trade him to a contender\team of his choice for pennies on the dollar just because we owe to him for wasting his career. He deserves better.

[BigSlam]

Here is a list of the picks Charlotte made during this current franchise's history and here are the players I liked at that time of the draft:

2004 – No. 2 (Okafor); my choice – Luol Deng
2005 – No. 5 (Felton) and No. 13 (Sean May); my choice – package the picks to Atlanta, move up to select Chris Paul at No. 2
2006 – No. 3 (Morrison); my choice – Rudy Gay
2007 – Traded No. 8 pick (Brendan Wright) to Golden State for Jason Richardson
2008 – No. 9 (D.J. Augustin); my choice – Brook Lopez. No. 20 (Alexis Ajinça); my choice – Serge Ibaka

2009 – No. 12 (Gerald Henderson); my choice – Jeff Teague
2010 – Traded No. 16 pick (Luke Babbitt) in 2008 to Denver for the No. 20 pick (used to select Ajinça)
2011 – No. 7 (Bismack Biyombo); my choice – Kemba Walker. No. 9 – Walker; my choice – Klay Thompson
2012 – No. 2 (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist); my choice – Bradley Beal
2013 – No. 4 (Cody Zeller); my choice – Ben MacLemore

2014 – No. 9 (Noah Vonleh); my choice – Zach Lavine. No. 26 (P.J. Hairston); my choice – Bogan Boganovich
2015 – No. 9 (Frank Kaminsky); my choice – Devin Booker
2016 – Traded No. 22 pick (Malachi Richardson) to Sacramento for Marco Bellini
2017 – No. 11 (Mailk Monk); my choice – Donovan Mitchell

So in 14 years of drafts, you've only had the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

[Najee12]

So i14 years of drafts, you'ad the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

It's a combination of following the NBA for 40 years, being a former journalist who covered the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s and using my experience, knowledge and common sense. Practically all the Hornets' picks since 2004 became what most scouts thought they became -- marginal complementary pieces with little upside.

Kemba Walker is the only who panned out and some of you people want to trade him the day after he is named a starter to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. It's not that I am a genius, but practically everyone questioned Charlotte's picks the moment they were made and they were right.

[HornetJail]

2004 – No. 2 (Okafor); my choice – Luol Deng
2005 – No. 5 (Felton) and No. 13 (Sean May); my choice – package the picks to Atlanta, move up to select Chris Paul at No. 2
2006 – No. 3 (Morrison); my choice – Rudy Gay
2007 – Traded No. 8 pick (Brendan Wright) to Golden State for Jason Richardson
2008 – No. 9 (D.J. Augustin); my choice – Brook Lopez. No. 20 (Alexis Ajinça); my choice – Serge Ibaka

2009 – No. 12 (Gerald Henderson); my choice – Jeff Teague
2010 – Traded No. 16 pick (Luke Babbitt) in 2008 to Denver for the No. 20 pick (used to select Ajinça)
2011 – No. 7 (Bismack Biyombo); my choice – Kemba Walker. No. 9 – Walker; my choice – Klay Thompson
2012 – No. 2 (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist); my choice – Bradley Beal
2013 – No. 4 (Cody Zeller); my choice – Ben MacLemore

2014 – No. 9 (Noah Vonleh); my choice – Zach Lavine. No. 26 (P.J. Hairston); my choice – Bogan Boganovich
2015 – No. 9 (Frank Kaminsky); my choice – Devin Booker
2016 – Traded No. 22 pick (Malachi Richardson) to Sacramento for Marco Bellini
2017 – No. 11 (Mailk Monk); my choice – Donovan Mitchell

I'll do this as well.

04: I liked the Okafor pick.
05: I didn't really have an opinion on that one. Hindsight says Felton was the best reasonable choice and we were basically screwed regardless. After #4, the whole 1st round was **** except for Bynum, Granger, and David Lee
06: Fully on board the Morrison Wagon
07: I remember liking Julian Wright lol. Glad we traded that one
08: Pick 9: I was pretty indifferent after it was clear we weren't getting Westbrook or Gordon. I think I would've gone with Augustin. Pick 20: I really liked Batum
09: I was gutted Terrence Williams got picked over Hendo. After him, I would've probably taken Earl Clark or James Johnson.
10: no pick. didn't care
11: After we made the trade and had picks #7 and #9, I wanted Biz and Kawhi. I thought Biz and Kawhi would be new age Ben Wallace and Gerald Wallace.
12: I was torn between MKG and Drummond
13: I wanted to trade down because I hated everyone in the top 7. Steven Adams actually would've been my target if we moved down to the 8-10 range. Thought about reaching for him at 4 too.
14: Vonleh at 9, Shabazz at 24. We literally did both of those and then dealt Napier for Hairston lol
15: I was on the "literally anybody but Frank" wagon and really wanted Winslow.
16: traded the pick but really didn't care who we drafted
17: Monk
18: Gilgeous

[Chapelchilla]

So i14 years of drafts, you'ad the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

It's a combination of following the NBA for 40 years, being a former journalist who covered the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s and using my experience, knowledge and common sense. Practically all the Hornets' picks since 2004 became what most scouts thought they became. -- marginal complementary pieces with little upside.

Kemba Walker is only who panned out and some of you people want to trade him the day after he is named a starter to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. It's not that I am a genius, but practically everyone questioned Charlotte's picks the moment they were made and they were right.

Well, that is pretty darn amazing drafting. I would love to see you next years picks ranked before the draft so we can send them to Mitch!

[BigSlam]

So i14 years of drafts, you'ad the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

It's a combination of following the NBA for 40 years, being a former journalist who covered the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s and using my experience, knowledge and common sense. Practically all the Hornets' picks since 2004 became what most scouts thought they became. -- marginal complementary pieces with little upside.

Kemba Walker is only who panned out and some of you people want to trade him the day after he is named a starter to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. It's not that I am a genius, but practically everyone questioned Charlotte's picks the moment they were made and they were right.

Don't sell yourself short.

It's not just Charlotte that you are better at scouting than - it's most every other team who picked above, and sometimes below them, and didn't pick who your guy was.

You're almost batting 100. You need to stop posting on internet message boards and find a head scouting job!!

Amazing success rate. Some might say unbelievable.

[chabber]

So i14 years of drafts, you'ad the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

It's a combination of following the NBA for 40 years, being a former journalist who covered the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s

I'm sure you're not, but I hope you're John Delong! I miss hearing him talk about Bob Bass like he was his long lost lover.

Whoop-de--damn-doo!

[Najee12]

Don't sell yourself short.

It's not just Charlotte that you are better at scouting than - it's most every other team who picked above, and sometimes below them, and didn't pick who your guy was.

You're almost batting 100. You need to stop posting on internet message boards and find a head scouting job!!

Amazing success rate. Some might say unbelievable.

That must be why I am a college professor. Believe me, I make a few more dollars doing that than being a scout.

If you're under the impression people didn't look at Charlotte picking prospects as D.J. Augustin, Frank Kaminsky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Sean May and Noah Vonleh as ranging from head-scratchers to low-ceiling projects, you are free to look up that information. Not one of these guys were projected to be potential star players when Charlotte drafted them and some (Augustin, Kaminsky) were heavily criticized from the beginning.

Most people projected Charlotte to take Brook Lopez in 2008 because the team needed a center; instead, the team takes an undersized volume-shooting point guard who projected as a backup (Augustin). Really, did you think May was worth a lottery pick when he came out in 2005? What about Kaminsky, who most people projected as a backup? Kidd-Gilchrist being the pick of the worst single-season team in NBA history, a team that was starving for offense and outside shooting yet chose a player whose weaknesses were scoring and outside shooting?

It's not unbelievable unless you're just a bad evaluator of talent (which Charlotte has been since the new team came into existence). But then again, I'm also the person who thinks Charlotte should keep the only draft pick who has panned out with the second-generation team while some people thinks it makes sense to get rid of Kemba Walker yet keep Nicolas Batum. It sounds like some of you Hornets fans are afraid of success because you're so used to losing.

[catch20two]

Kemba is gone. Charlotte better show him as much love and appreciation as they can during All-Star Weekend and maybe the playoffs homestand because lol he’s gone!!!

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE IF KUPCHAK CAN PULL A RABBIT TRICK OUT OF HIS ASS WITH A TRADE AND MAKE PESSIMISM DISAPPEAR INTO THE THIN AIR*

[316Hornets]

Hmmm

In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated's SI Now, Kanter said he has inside information regarding who the Knicks will be adding to the roster in July, but that he couldn't give away any of that information.

"I actually do have an idea [of who will sign], but I cannot really tell," Kanter said. "It's a secret, but it's going to blow people's minds when he signs. I can't give no hint because I'll get burned big time."

Kanter added that believed the free agent addition would help bolster the team's chances at winning an NBA championship sooner rather than later.

[Bassman]

So i14 years of drafts, you'ad the 1 miss (2013 - which was a weak class)?

That's an amazing success rate.

It's a combination of following the NBA for 40 years, being a former journalist who covered the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s and using my experience, knowledge and common sense. Practically all the Hornets' picks since 2004 became what most scouts thought they became. -- marginal complementary pieces with little upside.

Kemba Walker is only who panned out and some of you people want to trade him the day after he is named a starter to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. It's not that I am a genius, but practically everyone questioned Charlotte's picks the moment they were made and they were right.

Najee is correct in that these picks were panned by many of us on this board. I for one wanted alternatives in nearly every selection. They don’t always pan out either. But the point is valid; Charlotte has a dreadful record of picks since the Bobcats era. That action alone helps to account for our pathetic performance since then. Talent wins in the NBA.

[Snidely FC]

in a vacuum its a no brainer that Kemba stays; unfortunately other teams are making moves; LeBron often gets what he wants, and he glows with admiration when discussing Kemba; if LAL add Ant Davis look for Kemba to be in sight lines as third wheel; and the NYK dumpster fire just opened up a max spot for Kemba plus one

repeated media conjecture he might be better off elsewhere doesn't help either

[catch20two]

I predict Kemba goes to the Knicks or Lakers, whichever one Kyrie don’t go to.

[Bassman]

in a vacuum its a no brainer that Kemba stays; unfortunately other teams are making moves; LeBron often gets what he wants, and he glows with admiration when discussing Kemba; if LAL add Ant Davis look for Kemba to be in sight lines as third wheel; and the NYK dumpster fire just opened up a max spot for Kemba plus one

repeated media conjecture he might be better off elsewhere doesn't help either

My contention has been that NOTHING is certain about where Kemba will sign. I don't doubt he is sincere when he expresses his desire to be in Charlotte. But the attraction of playing on a super team at this point in his career, coming off a starting birth in the All-Star Game, is likely too good to turn down. It wouldn't be just anywhere. The Knicks will try to assemble that team and he is sure to be courted as one of their star pieces. The Lakers? You KNOW he would love to play with LBJ and win a ring.

Kemba is ultra competitive and very good, but he cannot carry a team. He is best one of the pieces on a very good squad. He knows that. If we essentially sit still at the deadline, what have we done? Lost Kemba for nothing is my expectation. Yes it is almost impossible to trade him now unless he privately told Mitch he wanted to go to one of these teams. The Lakers will have to deal a lot to get AD. The Knicks would be a better partner for a Kemba deal if we think he will not sign.