Doug Gottlieb: "Kemba Walker has had an outstanding career and he’s been better than I would have thought but a supermax should be reserved for one of the ten best players on earth. As much as Kemba might have the best crossover currently in the NBA and is the face of a franchise with value, he’s NOT one of the 10 best players on earth."
Listen to Doug Gottlieb explain why 29-year-old free agent to-be Kemba Walker is not worth the NBA’s supermax deal worth five years, and $221 million.
To qualify for the league’s supermax, a player must have spent eight seasons with the team that drafted him or traded for his rookie contract. THEN a player must meet one of the following criteria: Be named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, be named the Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or be named the NBA’s MVP in any of the past three seasons.
Despite Walker coming off a career season in which he averaged 25.6 points and 5.9 assists, he only shot .434 from the field and the Hornets missed out of the playoffs for the sixth time during his 8-year career.
Check out the audio below as Gottlieb explains why supermax deals should only be used on Top 10 NBA players, to which Gottlieb says Kemba ISN’T.