‘We’ll see how long that lasts’

The Dallas Mavericks announced Kemba Walker would be joining the team Tuesday. Three days later, general manager Nico Harrison had a less than shining endorsement when asked about the newly signed guard’s knee.

“It’s not good at all. But he’s rehabbed it and it’s the best he’s felt in the last two years so, we’ll see how long that lasts,” he said on a local sports station Friday.

Harrison went on to clarify that even though the 11-year NBA veteran’s knee isn’t “good,” there’s still hope.

“Well, it hasn’t been good for a few years,” Harrison said. “Even last year, he had 30 point games on it. But it actually feels better now. The reality is, if you look at it, it’s not good, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play on it.”

Kemba’s career timeline

Walker’s last 30 point performance was in May 2021 for the Boston Celtics, 19 months ago.

After receiving a stem cell injection for pain in his left knee and missing the start of the season, Walker sat out of the final two games of Boston’s first-round loss to the Nets because of continued knee trouble.

The team traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June 2021. Two months later, he and the Thunder reached a buyout agreement and Walker signed with the New York Knicks.

In February, Walker and the Knicks agreed to keep him sidelined for the rest of the 2021-2022 season as averaged career-lows of 11.6 points and 3.5 assists in 37 games.

Although he notched a 44-point performance against the Washington Wizards and a historic triple-double on Christmas Day, it apparently wasn’t enough to stay in the team’s rotation.

Walker was traded to the Detroit Pistons in July, and waived in mid October.

Now, Harrison says Walker is about a week from debuting with the 10-11 Mavericks.