Kemba Walker Gets Brutally Honest On His Poor Play And Getting Benched

Coach Tom Thibodeau claimed that benching Kemba was one of the toughest decisions he had to make, as he had nothing but respect for him as a professional.

Notably, it became even clearer that it was nothing personal when Thibodeau was asked whether bringing him back to the rotation was a difficult decision to make:

"No," the Knicks coach told ESPN.. "Whatever gives us the best chance to win, that's what we have to do. So, you know, that's what we're doing."

Walker is well aware of the fact that he wasn't being aggressive enough, forcing things in the offense and hurting his team's chances:

“I just have a tendency of kind of not wanting to step on toes,” Walker said, per ClutchPoints. “I think that’s what I did early on. I was here and I wasn’t being as aggressive, I think, as I could have been. But I think being out and seeing how the game has been flowing and going put me in a different mindset.”

Even so, Kemba holds no grudges towards the coach or the organization.

If anything, he's just thankful for the opportunity to be back out there:

"I'm over it," Walker said. "It don't matter anymore at this point. I just take it as a blessing. I think it was a blessing in disguise, to be honest. God just works in mysterious ways, man. He's blessed me, he's helped me stay humble, grounded, and he just got me through a tough situation. I just continued to work, and time goes on and guys go down, and I'm back."

And even if things don't work out as he or the Knicks would want, it's not like Kemba Walker is done or washed by any means.

He's still on quite the team-friendly contract and could provide a massive boost for contending teams looking for scoring and playmaking.

The Knicks haven't fared as well as last season and could find themselves in a tough spot come the trade deadline.

So, maybe if Walker can't give them a helping hand on the court, he'd be just what they need to boost their roster with a couple of moves.