OKC Thunder were calculated in Kemba Walker buyout

The OKC Thunder bought out Kemba Walker over the summer after the team shipped out Al Horford to Boston along with project center Moses Brown. Walker did not last long in Bricktown, he was bought out almost immediately after the deal was finalized.

That is a rare move for the Thunder organization, especially given how much was owed to the former All-Star. Instead of keeping Walker on the roster in hopes of trading him later on as they have done with the likes of Chris Paul and Al Horford, the team elected to cut bait immediately in a calculated move by Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti.

OKC Thunder had a clear plan when buying out Kemba Walker

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have dragged the process out with Kemba Walker, allowing him to tag along for the season, improve his trade value, and gain more assets.

As Sam Presti said Friday morning “I can not say enough good things about Kemba Walker, [He is a] pro.” the UCONN product would have been a good teammate and veteran, kept his head down, and waited for his next stop.

The team understood this is not Walker’s final destination in his career, and he does not fit the organization’s future. Instead of chasing more assets, they found the more valuable route than a protected first-round pick, more minutes for their young players.

Kemba Walker is off to the big apple to play ball in his hometown for the New York Knicks, being one of their bonafide bucket getters. A possible final destination in his career, he comes out on the other side of the Boston swap in a better place for his career.

For the OKC Thunder, they will be allowed to evaluate their “baseline” of young players with more minutes to go around for the likes of Josh Giddey, Theo Maledon, Ty Jerome, Tre Mann, and the entire youth movement of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With the organization leaning fully into the youth movement, there will be growing pains, but it is for the betterment of the franchise long-term.

Clay Bennett, the OKC Thunder owner, deserves a ton of kudos with this move. Not many owners would agree to eat this amount of salary, over 26-million dollars this year and 27-million dollars in 2022, for the sole purpose of doing right by Kemba Walker and earning more minutes for the youngsters of the future.