Kemp signed a contract extension with the SuperSonics in 1994. The league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) precluded any adjustment to that contract until October 1997. He was upset by the situation, but his agent, Tony Dutte, understood that no negotiation was permitted. During this time, the SuperSonics signed Jim McIlvaine to a seven-year, $33.6 million contract, exceeding Kemp's salary. Kemp threatened to refuse to play in the upcoming 1996–97 season and held out of training camp for 22 days. Despite this absence, Kemp helped lead the SuperSonics to another 50-plus-win season as they dispatched the Phoenix Suns in five games in the first round, only to lose to the Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler-led Houston Rockets in a seven-game series in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Following the 1996–1997 season, Kemp was part of a trade sending him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks forward Vin Baker to the SuperSonics, and Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill from the Cavaliers to the Bucks.