LOS ANGELES — With the trade deadline looming and Kemba Walker’s homecoming continuing to underwhelm, the point guard acknowledged Friday he’s dealing with an identity crisis.
Walker, 31, went scoreless in consecutive games this week for the first time in his career, taking just six shots total and playing mostly off the ball. It’s a far cry from the four-time All-Star version of Walker from Charlotte and Boston, but a balky knee, a stint out of the rotation and increasingly limited opportunities have set him on the course of a role player.
“We do have a lot of guys who can score the basketball. And we don’t play through me,” Walker said after practice at UCLA with a bag of ice wrapped around his arthritic left knee. “So I’m just kind of out there – I’m the one playing off these guys. I’m playing off these guys. So I’m waiting for my opportunities. And I’m still learning where to be aggressive and things of that nature on this team. I can’t say it enough, it’s different. It’s just different for me.”
