{"id":1335983,"date":"2022-02-24T07:47:02","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T12:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1335983"},"modified":"2022-02-24T07:54:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T12:54:35","slug":"knicks-point-guard-kemba-walker-agree-he-wont-play-rest-of-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/knicks-point-guard-kemba-walker-agree-he-wont-play-rest-of-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks &#038; Point Guard Kemba Walker Agree He Won\u2019t Play Rest of Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fknicks-point-guard-kemba-walker-agree-he-wont-play-rest-of-season%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1335983&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The clock has struck midnight on Kemba Walker\u2019s homecoming \u2014 for this season and perhaps altogether.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks and the veteran point guard, just six months removed from a ballyhooed press conference to celebrate his signing, have agreed that he will sit out the rest of this season to start preparing for next season. Where the 31-year-old with a balky knee will play his next game is very much up in the air, but it\u2019s hard to figure it will be in New York after the decision, which was announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe knew there was risk involved [signing Walker],\u201d coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice. \u201cWe thought it was worth it. There were some good moments. If he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s good. So, that\u2019s about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker, the Bronx native who signed a two-year, $18 million contract last summer, was a candidate to be traded before the deadline, but the Knicks did not find a deal to their liking. A buyout also appeared possible following the deadline, but with this arrangement, Walker is expected to be back on the trade market this summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe fully support Kemba\u2019s decision to shut it down for the remainder of the season and to use this time to prepare for next season,\u201d Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. \u201cHis long-term success on the court remains our priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Knicks-Kemba-Walker-done-for-season.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Knicks-Kemba-Walker-done-for-season.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Kemba Walker Knicks\" class=\"wp-image-21311482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Knicks-Kemba-Walker-done-for-season.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Knicks-Kemba-Walker-done-for-season.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Knicks-Kemba-Walker-done-for-season.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Knicks and Kemba Walker have agreed the former All-Star guard won\u2019t play the rest of the season.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thibodeau, who deferred many of the questions about the decision to conversations between Rose and Walker\u2019s agent, had benched Walker earlier this season. He took the four-time All-Star out of the starting lineup and rotation altogether for nine straight games until injuries opened the door for his return on Dec. 18. After a solid stretch of play, Walker then sat out another string of games to tend to his nagging knee.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, he averaged 11.6 points, 3.5 assists and three rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from deep.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Walker arrived in New York fresh off being bought out by the Thunder, after the Celtics had shipped him out of town following an injury-plagued tenure in Boston. But his homecoming, which was initially met with good feelings all around, has since turned into a nightmare for Walker and the Knicks, who are coming out of the All-Star break with a 25-34 record.<\/p>\n<p>Thibodeau said he did not know whether Walker would be around the team the rest of the season, but he was not at practice Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that just because something didn\u2019t go as planned doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s not a good idea,\u201d RJ Barrett said. \u201cWe play hard no matter what, no matter who\u2019s out there on the court, no matter who suits up for us. As long as you\u2019re a Knick, it\u2019s a part of our brotherhood and we\u2019re trying to win with whatever we got.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Walker out of the picture, the Knicks could turn to a few options for their starting point guard. Derrick Rose practiced fully Wednesday for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in December, but when asked whether the veteran would slide right into the starting lineup when he is ready, Thibodeau was noncommittal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/derrick-rose-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/derrick-rose-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Derrick Rose #4 of the New York Knicks goes up for a shot during the second quarter.\" class=\"wp-image-20968159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/derrick-rose-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/derrick-rose-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/derrick-rose-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Derrick Rose<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cI think just looking, digging into the numbers and stuff, Alec [Burks] has been our best option so far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burks, a natural wing, started at point guard for most of the games Walker missed.<\/p>\n<p>Thibodeau also mentioned Immanuel Quickley, who went through a rough shooting slump before the All-Star break, while noting rookie shooting guard Quentin Grimes can play and guard multiple positions. The Knicks could also give more minutes to rookie Miles McBride, though he has played in just 21 games this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see Julius [Randle] as a point forward and RJ is handling the ball a lot more,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cSo whatever the strengths of the team are, you want to play to those strengths. Derrick was always a power point guard and he played with the ball and off the ball. I think we see that with Alec. Alec can play three positions. So you like versatility.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The clock has struck midnight on Kemba Walker\u2019s homecoming \u2014 for this season and perhaps altogether. The Knicks and the veteran point guard, just six months removed from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1335983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1335983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1335983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1335983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1335983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1335983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1335983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}