Former Boston Celtics star, Kemba Walker, hits rock bottom in New York

While his tenure with the Boston Celtics may have ended with quite a dud this past summer, as the franchise was forced to attach a first-round pick just to simply part ways with him via trade, when Kemba Walker was officially bought out by the OKC Thunder and went on to sign with the Knicks, we at the Houdini were actually rooting for him to have a solid bounce-back season in his home state of New York.

Unfortunately, however, things have only managed to get worse and worse for the veteran since his arrival in the Big Apple, and now, 20 games into the 2021-22 campaign, it appears as though the former top-tier point guard has hit a new low in his professional career, as Head Coach Tom Thibodeau stated Monday that the Knickerbockers have opted to pull Walker from their rotation for the time being.

Once upon a time, Kemba Walker was viewed as one of the truly elite point guards in the NBA, posting averages of 19.9 points, 5.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on 36 percent shooting from deep while also accumulating four All-Star nods and an All-NBA selection throughout his first nine seasons of action.

During the summer of 2019, Walker was viewed as one of the top free agents in a class that also saw names such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler attached and, when the Boston Celtics signed him to a four-year, $141 million deal, many viewed it as a fantastic move by the front office, especially considering the fact that former franchise point guard, Kyrie Irving, opted to jump ship and sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

While his tenure with the Cs got off to a rather hot start, putting up 21.8 points, five assists, and 4.1 rebounds on 39 percent shooting from deep through the first half of year one, after sustaining a knee ailment right before the 2020 All-Star break it was evident that the guard’s production took a hit, as he would only post 14.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.8 rebounds on just 34 percent shooting from deep from then on out.

Since then, Walker has only become less and less productive — a major reason why the Boston Celtics opted to part ways with him this summer — and more injury prone and now, it has come to the point that New York views him as unplayable and are even opting to go with a traditional wing in Alec Burks at the starting point guard position over him.

Now, whether this is a short-term scenario or one for the long haul, this news makes one thing abundantly clear: as far as his professional career goes, Kemba Walker has officially hit rock bottom.

A sad truth indeed, for we love Kemba Walker and would love to see him recapture his old identity and have a successful and productive remainder of his career but, alas, it is a truth nonetheless.