Mavs Must Make Contract Decision on Kemba Walker This Week
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Kemba Walker’s contract becomes fully guaranteed this weekend. Will the Dallas Mavericks keep him on the roster for the rest of the season?
With NBA trade season starting to heat up, the Dallas Mavericks have a small, but intriguing, roster decision to make this week when it comes to veteran point guard Kemba Walker.
The Mavs signed the four-time All-Star to a one-year, non-guaranteed $1.3 million contract on Nov. 29. That contract will become fully guaranteed this Saturday, Jan. 7, if Walker isn’t waived.
Walker has appeared in just eight games for the Mavs so far this season and is averaging 8.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep. His best performance so far came on Dec. 17, as the Luka Doncic-less Mavs lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, 100-99. Walker put up a season-best 32 points on 12-25 shooting to go with five rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes.
That performance was great, but it may have taken a physical toll on Walker, as he’s only appeared in five of the last eight games and hasn’t played more than 13 minutes in a game since Dec. 21.
“I think it’s just the workload we had him play Saturday in Cleveland,” said coach Jason Kidd on Dec. 23 when asked about Walker missing the Mavs’ game against the Houston Rockets.
“We pushed the limits having him play 40-plus [in Cleveland], so to give him tonight and be able to come back and be able to play the day game on Christmas is the goal.”
That goal wasn’t reached, and Walker has played a total of 23 minutes since then. For a guy who has had knee issues in the past, there’s a chance he could be waived by this weekend. Then again, the Mavs are so shorthanded when it comes to ball-handling aside from Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie, maybe it’s worth keeping Walker on for the rest of the season just in case.
We’ll find out which route the Mavs will take soon.
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