Kemba Walker has finally been moved by the New York Knicks after a very unfulfilling time together last season. Walker was coming off a troubled season at Boston and many expected him to do really well with the Knicks. However, he failed to live up to the mark and was benched midway through the season by coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Detroit Pistons will be acquiring Kemba Walker alongside the 13th pick of this year’s Draft, Jalen Duren. This is a three-team trade where Duren first went from Charlotte to New York before the Knicks moved him on to the Pistons in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick that they acquired in the Jerami Grant trade to Portland.
Detroit walks out of this draft with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren as their primary targets, with Kemba being a solid veteran that could mentor Cade Cunningham. Kemba is a candidate to get waived prior to the season but Detroit could use him if they need to.
Sources: Hornets traded Jalen Duren to the Knicks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2022
The Pistons are sending the Hornets the 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee in the Duren trade, sources tell ESPN. Detroit got that pick from Portland in the Jerami Grant deal yesterday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2022
The draft compensation that New York sent to Charlotte to acquire Duren is the pick Detroit sent them that belongs to Milwaukee in 2025 (acquired in the Jerami Grant trade). This is the second trade the Knicks have made, as they also moved on from the draft rights for Ousmane Dieng for multiple future picks from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Duren was one of the best players in his class coming out of high school and had a solid year with the Memphis Tigers. If the Pistons fail to acquire Deandre Ayton, Duren will be a fantastic center to have and develop alongside the young Pistons core.
The Knicks are acquiring a lot of picks right now. Whether that indicates salary shedding or planning for the future is unclear, but the Knicks loading up on assets without hurting their current core could be scary in terms of the players they look to get through trades.
