Pistons won’t cut Kemba Walker until he finds a new team

Shams Charania: Pistons’ Kemba Walker will likely be away from the team as training camp opens this week, sources tell me and @James Edwards III. Detroit will need to waive or trade a player by Oct. 17 to be at the league limit for standard roster spots going into the season. -via Twitter @ShamsCharania / September 25, 2022

Chris Fedor: I talked to multiple people about Kemba (Walker) inside and outside the organization because I knew that the Cavs were hunting for a point guard this offseason. And I said, okay, like, what if Kemba gets bought out by Detroit? Like is that somebody that’s interesting? And  the word that I continued to get about Kemba is that 1. The role that he was going to sign up for wasn’t going to be all that appealing to him and 2. He just doesn’t have the same kind of juice he doesn’t have the same kind of on-court ability. -via Spotify / September 8, 2022

Per sources, the Pistons and Walker had agreed on a number, which was a few million less than what he’s owed. However, and this is just an *educated hunch,* Walker has yet to officially agree to the terms of the buyout because, well, a player usually takes a buyout when he’s sure that he can sign with another team and make up some of the money he gave back. So, if you read the tea leaves, it sounds like Walker is unsure that another team out there is interested in his services at this exact point in time. If that’s the case, Walker doesn’t have to take less money just to sit at home. Walker, instead, could force the Pistons to pay him everything he is owed, even if they just waive him on their own accord. To sum it all up in one sentence: It feels like Walker doesn’t have another team lined up right now and there is no point in him taking less money until he does. -via The Athletic / September 7, 2022