Michael Jordan Has Made Re-Signing Kemba Walker Top Priority

TheSportster

By Lou Flavius

Published Nov 20, 2018

Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan is reported as being "hellbent" on keeping point guard Kemba Walker around, with free agency looming.

Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker (15) slaps hands with team owner Michael Jordan, after the Miami Heat defeated the Bobcats, 109-98, in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 28, 2014. The Heat swept the series, 4-0. (David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer/MCT)

Kemba Walker has been on fire this season. The 28-year-old point guard currently leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 29.6 points per game, and has scored 103 points in his last two outings for the Charlotte Hornets.

Walker torched the Boston Celtics with 43 points on Monday night, helping his team to a 117-112 victory over Brad Stevens' men. And prior to that, he went off for 60 in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, the star is likely to attract plenty of attention from elsewhere and could prove hard to hold on to.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Hornets owner Michael Jordan is "hellbent" on resigning his prime asset next year and hopes to build the franchise around the basket-happy guard.

Walker has never played for any other NBA team and has been with the Hornets since they selected him as the No.9 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. They have made the playoffs twice since his arrival but have so far failed to win a postseason series.

There's no way Jordan would be willing to let Walker leave Charlotte. And, being the greatest to ever play the game, he does wield lots of negotiating power. After all, how easy would it be to say no to His Airness?

Walker is shooting a career-high 46.5 percent this season and is particularly remarkable from beyond the arc, hitting 38.9 percent of his three-pointers.

What This Means

We could be about to see something really special from the Hornets this season, mainly because of Walker's brilliance. The team is currently holding on to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with an 8-8 record to start the season and, the way things are going, they could lock down a playoff berth in the end.

While Walker has taken on the brunt of the scoring, he also seems to have made his teammates more confident and they all look pretty impressive.

If Jordan is able to convince the player that Charlotte is where he needs to be, the team will be much better for it. However, we can expect that there will be many suitors come summertime.

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