Kemba Walker New York Knicks
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When Tom Thibodeau announced in late November that Kemba Walker would be removed from the rotation entirely, I was in favor of the tough decision. The Knicks' starters were getting bludgeoned and Walker's defense just felt like too much to overcome for a unit without much margin for error. 

That said, reasonable minds definitely could've disagreed with this move; it wasn't clear cut by any means. Walker isn't the scorer he used to be, but when he was removed from the rotation he was still shooting 41 percent from 3-point range on five attempts per game. New York isn't exactly stocked with pick-and-roll pull-up threats, which Walker remains. 

However you feel about his defense, Walker can still put the ball in the basket. He proved that much again on Saturday, when he finished with 29 points on 8-of-20 shooting in New York's 114-107 loss at Boston. Walker hit five of his 11 3-pointers and eight of his 10 free throws, and the Knicks were a team-high plus-five in his 37 minutes. 

Thibodeau was forced to put Walker back in the starting lineup with six Knicks -- Miles McBride, Immanuel Quickley, Kevin Knox II, Quentin Grimes, R.J. Barrett and Obi Toppin -- currently in the league's COVID health and safety protocol and Derrick Rose out with a sore ankle. Walker delivered, albeit in defeat. 

Asked after the game if he wants to stay with the Knicks, Walker said simply: "I want to play."

In other words, put me back on the floor permanently or trade me. To the latter option, Matt Moore of The Action Network recently reported there is "no interest league-wide" in trading for Walker, whose knee -- and by extension, his production -- deterioration is scaring teams away. 

It's hard to argue Walker shouldn't get another go-round with the Knicks, who, for all his defensive shortcomings, are now 10-9 with Walker in the lineup and 3-8 without him. Evan Fournier, who was also terrific against the Celtics, is almost equally problematic as a defender, and overall the defense got worse after Walker's benching. Asked if Walker's performance on Saturday was enough to get him back in the rotation, Thibodeau was noncommittal. 

However this goes, you have to give Walker a ton of credit. Getting demoted to the bench is hard enough for former superstars; to be yanked from the rotation altogether is the toughest of ego shots. But Walker, as pretty much everyone expected from one of the most respected and liked players in the league, has been a professional, continuing to enthusiastically pull for his teammates from the end of the bench. 

That doesn't mean he's happy sitting there. He wants to play. He showed on Saturday that he still can. The Knicks, frankly, are not a good team with or without Walker at this point, and at least for the foreseeable future, they're going to be shorthanded enough to be in need of Walker's services. We'll see what Thibodeau does when and if New York's roster returns to normalcy, or if this kind of showing is enough to at least get Walker on the radar of a few trade candidates.