Hornets Open to Trade Kemba Walker: The Pros and Cons

Kemba Walker has been Charlotte's star so why they would want to trade him in the first place?

The Charlotte Hornets are far from being a playoff-bound team, to say the least. At 18-26, they are at the 11th place in the Eastern Conference after a 106-105 defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat. The good news though: they have won 6 of their last 10 games but are they gonna be satisfied with that?

To give credit to the Hornets, they are no longer the same team who used to dwell down the bottom of the standings like they used to do in the previous seasons. They've managed to beat the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this. Thanks to Dwight Howard, the Hornets are the second-best rebounding team in the league, averaging 46 rebounds per game with Howard averaging 12 rebounds per game.

So why would the Charlotte Hornets willing to trade their long-time leader, Kemba Walker

Yup. You've read it right, folks. The Charlotte Hornets are rumored to be willing to part ways with Kemba Walker who is leading this season with his 21 points, 5 assists and 1 steal per game averages. Walker has played 41 games this season, starting in all of them.

So what would be the effects of trading away Kemba Walker?

The Pros

For starters, Kemba Walker, at 27 years-old, is still young and still in his prime years. He could be a valuable asset to any team who would make a run at him. This will give the Hornets the advantage to ask for a  high-tier player in exchange for their star point guard who has been their offense for the past 7 seasons now. In addition to this, the inclusion of Walker to a possible trade package will also give the Hornets the advantage because they can also ask for a first-round draft pick. 

The Cons

Let's state the painful truth here. Trading Kemba Walker would mean that the Charlotte Hornets are virtually throwing away their future.Walker is now the number 2 all-time in career points and assists in a Charlotte uniform. That would be a big blow because it would also mean that Dwight Howard will need to take over the lead. Not to discredit Dwight Howard but, can he actually lead the Hornets once Kemba Walker is playing elsewhere? Another bad side of trading Kemba Walker is that there would be no assurance that Charlotte will improve.

Conclusion

Kemba Walker is still one of the point guards to watch out for. He will be an additional asset to any of the championship-contending teams who will trade for him. 

Question: Will Charlotte push the panic button and trade Kemba Walker? That depends on how ready they are to go back o the bottom of the standings.