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Chuck Burton/Associated Press

The 2018-19 campaign might serve as Kemba Walker's magnum opus. As a 28-year-old, he broke his previous scoring high with 60 points against the Philadelphia 76ers while becoming just the 13th player in the 2010s to average at least 25 points, five assists and four rebounds per game.

Even better, this Champagne production came at a cheap-beer discount. It was the final season of the four-year, $48 million pact he inked in 2014, meaning he collected the same coin as Austin Rivers, Avery Bradley and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

So, how did the Charlotte Hornets take advantage of rostering one of the Association's best discounts? The same way they've handled the rest of his tenure—surrounding with him overpaid, underperforming support players. They weren't a playoff team, just like they haven't been in six of his eight seasons in Buzz City.

The hoops world noticed Walker's one-man tour de force and rewarded him with his first All-NBA selection. That's particularly relevant to his upcoming free agency, since he's now eligible for a massive five-year, $221 million supermax extension with Charlotte.

That's a cartoonish amount of money, and if Walker can get it, he probably should. But the Hornets can't put themselves on the hook for that much cake. If they couldn't construct a postseason roster—not a contender, mind you, just a playoff participant—around him when he was an up-and-comer making relative pocket change, how would it be possible when he's a 30-something (he turned 29 in May) making $40-plus million?

Granted, the sides have more than a few sentimental reasons to want to keep this going. As league sources told The Athletic's Roderick Boone, indications are that Walker "wants to re-sign with the Hornets, and the feeling is sill mutual."

A macro view of the situation looks untenable, though. On a title contender, Walker would be more Robin than Batman. In Charlotte, he's a Robin-less Batman. Rather than further restricting their financial books, the Hornets should make the painful but sensible decision to let Walker leave and then spend the summer turning every stone that could yield salary relief, draft picks and/or prospects.