Kemba Walker reportedly won't agree to contract buyout with Knicks

Kemba Walker reportedly has made a decision about a possible contract buyout.

Walker and the New York Knicks reached an agreement that the veteran guard will not play for them the rest of the season. Some naturally wondered whether Walker and the Knicks would reach a buyout agreement that would allow him to join another team.

It sounds like that will not be happening.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on “NBA Today” Thursday that Walker is not interested in a buyout.

“There are a number of teams who would love to have Kemba Walker in a buyout,” Wojnarowski said Thursday, via Bleacher Report. “That’s not gonna happen. He’s not interested in that with New York.”

Walker previously reached a buyout agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which allowed him to sign a two-year, $17.89 million deal with the Knicks. He is making $8.7 million this season and $9.1 million next season and apparently does not want to put that contract in jeopardy. Instead, Walker is focusing on next season.

From 2016 to 2020, Walker made four straight All-Star teams, including three with the Hornets. However, they set a limit for how much they were willing to pay him. He ended up signing with the Celtics instead. They traded him to OKC last year, and he signed with the Knicks in August after being waived by the Thunder.

Walker has had some big games with the Knicks, but he fell out of the team’s rotation and has not worked well in coach Tom Thibodeau’s system. Walker has averaged 11.6 points per game in 37 contests this season.