Kemba Walker is playing himself off of the Phoenix Suns

If they want him, it’s going to be tough to get him

Certainly the Suns should arguably be in one of the best positions to make such an argument as they would only be one or two moves away from guaranteeing the cap space needed to sign Kemba as well as keeping the core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton et al. together to prove that adding him will make Phoenix a contender in the Western Conference.

The problem is that since the Suns have been a bottom-feeder in the league for so long now, it is likely that there will be plenty of other teams in the league (including the Hornets themselves) that will have equally as compelling arguments for his services – if not better.

And while another “average Kemba” season probably would have kept his list of potential suitors to a minimal level, a breakout season as he is experiencing now will probably lengthen that list considerably, meaning that Walker has played himself off of the future Phoenix Suns.

What’s worse is that if the Hornets were not in the playoff hunt, they might have actually dealt him at or near the trade deadline in February if they believed that he would not re-sign and so wanted to at least get a little something for him before he officially walked.

Maybe then with lessening trade value the Suns could have given themselves a little bit of an advantage – and head start – and acquired him to play alongside Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton for the final 22 games to see how they might all work together in Igor Kokoskov’s offense.

Now that he is performing so well offensively though, and the Hornets are likely to remain in the playoff race (and you never know in the Eastern Conference, they might upset somebody), the asking price is likely to remain astronomically high, if he is ever again made available.

Kemba Walker is probably not the future starting point guard of the Phoenix Suns.