By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The reports coming from Italian media, including Gazzetta dello Sport, one of the most respected and oldest newspapers in Europe, about an imminent deal between Kemba Walker and Emporio Armani Milan, proved to be in the best case scenario premature.
Per Eurohoops sources, not only there’s no deal between the four-times All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the Italian powerhouse, but there’s no contact at all, nor any plans for something like this to happen at the moment.
On the contrary, Milan is still undecided about the possibility of adding extra players in the roster at this point in the season. With starting point guard Kevin Pangos out at least until March and former leading scorer Shavon Shields inactive until February, it seems that Milan may be forced to enter the market, but even this is not yet certain.
“Now we have a clearer picture of what the next two and a half months will be like and we can make other assessments,” coach Ettore Messina mentioned after last night’s home defeat to Zalgiris Kaunas, implying that Milano may move more aggressively in the free-agent market.
That may have triggered the reports and while everyone would like to have a star like Kemba Walker trying the EuroLeague, unfortunately that is not the case.
Walker, 32, has been a free agent since the Dallas Mavericks waived him earlier in January. He appeared in nine games with the Mavericks‘ jersey and had a 32-point, seven-assist performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers in December.
Since he began his career in 2011 after being selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets (then Bobcats), Walker recorded 781 appearances in the NBA. He averaged above 20.0 points in five straight seasons, from 2015 to 2020 as a player of Charlotte (until 2019) and the Boston Celtics.