The Detroit Pistons are holding Media Day on Monday, when all the players and coaches are expected to be available for questions from the press. This is the first time management will have to publicly address the Kemba Walker situation.
While everyone may know what the deal is with Kemba Walker, the Pistons have never addressed it officially. However, at Media Day, coach Dwane Casey and, possibly, general manager Troy Weaver will have to talk about the elephant in the room:
Why is Kemba Walker still on the team and will he remain a Piston? And, if he remains, does he have to come to training camp, and would he actually play in games?
While there has been plenty of speculation, as well as a lot of leaking to favored reporters, officially, Detroit has had no comment about Walker, except to say they got him as part of a trade with the Knicks.
But the ‘Day of Reckoning’ has come for the Pistons. At Media Day, you do not have to be Woodward & Bernstein to ask a simple question: ‘You have a player named Kemba Walker on the roster and are paying him $9 million. Where is he?’
Now, reporters and fans already know the answer to that question: Detroit took the 6-foot guard’s salary off the Knicks hands to help facilitate getting a first-round draft pick to acquire Jalen Duren, not because they actually wanted Walker on the team.
After the trade, they planned to buy out Walker, and let him go wherever he pleased. However, there has a major hiccup in that plan: There is no other team for the injury-plagued Walker to go to.
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Walker has no incentive to take the buyout right now, as he has nowhere to make up the difference in salary. So here we are, at a stalemate, no one is interested in the four-time All-Star, even at a minimum salary, so the Pistons are dealing with a situation they probably did not expect.
What will Detroit Pistons say about Kemba Walker at Media Day
Casey and Weaver will be asked about Walker, as thoughts and ideas have been raging on social media in the off-season.
I’m about to mute “Kemba” from my mentions lol https://t.co/UONpeVQgkz
— Offseason O (@omarisankofa) September 23, 2022
Here are the three ways the Pistons could handle it:
- Sergeant Schultz method: Casey and Weaver can simply say “I know nothing” and refuse to talk about it: ‘Nothing to see here’.
- Let’s be honest: They could just admit they assumed there would have been a buyout by now of Walker, it has not come to realization yet, as he is still searching for a new home, and he will be on our roster until it’s resolved. (Note: this is the least likely option to occur)
- The word salad: Say Walker is a part of the team, he is not here yet and not sure of the date and we are monitoring the situation and we will see what happens, i.e. a lot of words that mean nothing.
The biggest shock would be if Walker actually showed up for training camp. He certainly could, but it would be weird, since neither side really wants him in Detroit.
While the Pistons certainly have bigger issues (like who will be in the starting lineup), The uniqueness of the Kemba Walker situation has gotten the attention of many Detroit fans. Let’s see how management handles it.