Michael Jordan: Hornets are 'not looking' to trade Kemba Walker
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan addressed trade rumors of veteran point guard Kemba Walker on Monday, denying a previous report that the Hornets were shopping the team's leading scorer.
"I'm not looking to trade Kemba," Jordan told The Charlotte Observer after the Hornets' 112-107 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, "but I would listen to opportunities. ...We bred him, we chose him, we groomed him to be a good player for us.
"It's not like we are shopping him. We would not just give him up. I love Kemba Walker. I would not trade him for anything but an All-Star player."
ESPN reported last week that the Hornets, amid a 19-26 season, are looking to dump assets before the Feb. 8 trade deadline and are encouraging teams to make offers for Walker.
“Obviously, the season has been a disappointment so far, and there have been teams asking about players. Also, we’ve been asking about players,” Jordan told the newspaper. “We ask teams who they like on our roster and they always say Kemba."
Addressing the trade rumors himself, Walker said he'd be "pretty upset" if he's dealt, adding, "I've put my heart and soul into this team, this city, and that's what I'm going to do until everything is over."
Walker, 27, has been with the franchise since being drafted with the ninth overall pick in 2011 after a stellar three-year career at UConn. He has led the team in scoring in five of his seven seasons, including last year's All-Star campaign in which he put up a career-high 23.2 points per game. This season, he's averaging 21.8 points, 5.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds. Walker becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
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