HAPPY AT HOME
Bronx-bred Kemba excited to make Garden debut as Knick
Assuming he’s in the lineup and not resting the preseason opener, Kemba Walker will play his first game at MSG as a member of the Knicks on Tuesday against Indiana.
It’s a lifetime in the making for the Bronx-bred point guard, who has embraced this homecoming for all its emotional and human appeal.
“It’s different. I can’t even lie to you,” Walker said of being a Knick. “I was just telling [Taj Gibson] the other day, we come in and every year, every team they come give you sweatsuits and bags. My New York sweatsuit just hit a little bit different than my other sweatsuits from the last couple years. I just feel like me being from here — like, I’m really, really from here. Born and raised in the Bronx, you know? So, it’s definitely just a little bit more special.
“I just wanna be that role model for the young kids, because I’ve always felt like if I can do it, anybody can,” Walker continued. “Me, specifically, just being a smaller guy. Always been that way. Always. And I always overcame everything. So, yeah man, I wanna be a role model for all the young kids in New York City. Whatever I can do to help, I’m here.”
Walker will serve as the starting point guard after a childhood in
New York rooting for the Knicks. He is part of a Knicks trio — which includes Gibson and Obi Toppin — that was born in NYC and grew up playing in the city playgrounds.
“It’s pretty special,” Walker said. “I’ve known Taj for a very long time. He’s been trying to get me to come here forever. So, it’s definitely very, very comforting knowing those guys.
They know me. Watching Obi from afar, knowing he’s from New York and then coming here, it’s like we kinda already have that connection, you know? So, we kinda just got along really easy. So, it’s definitely comforting having those guys here and being from New York.”
DON’T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA
Luca Vildoza was officially a waste.
The Argentinian point guard, signed last season by the Knicks amid hopes of a long term partnership, was waived Sunday before ever playing a game.
The 26-year-old has been dealing with an ankle issue since Summer League that left him unavailable to play in training camp.
“You gotta make roster decisions this time of the year, and so availability is a big part of it,’’ Thibodeau told reporters Sunday. “And we feel that the guys who are here, those are the guys that are fighting it out for that last spot. But he’s a good player and we wish him well.”
Vildoza’s contract was nonguaranteed this season but he did receive money last season after signing a four-year, $13.5 million deal in May. The Knicks used cap space to ink Vildoza, but it cost Knicks players money (about $200,000 each) because the amount under the salary floor would’ve been divided among the roster.
The Knicks were under the salary floor until signing Vildoza, who subsequently underwhelmed in the Olympics for Argentina and Summer League for the Knicks.
The Knicks also wasted a reported $2 million to buy out Vildoza’s contract from Baskonia in Spain, according to Eurohoops. com.
With the Vildoza out of the picture, the Knicks have a roster opening with Dwayne Bacon and Wayne Selden vying for the final spot.