The Real Reason Boston Signed Free Agent Lonnie Walker

Walker

The Celtics recently signed free agent Lonnie Walker IV, but his time with the championship franchise may be short-lived.

Walker spent the last two NBA seasons with the Nets and Lakers and was impressive on offense, so for a team not to pick him up earlier was a little puzzling.

Teams could have signed him to a minimum contract even, but the Celtics grabbed him only a matter of days ago.

Though not for long, according to Shams. The 25-year-old may not make it past training camp.

“Those sources say the 25-year-old guard will be brought in on an Exhibit 10 contract, which allows Boston to give Walker a bonus if he is waived after training camp and plays for the team’s G League affiliate in Maine,” Charania said. “I’m told there’s a chance Walker is waived after camp to keep Boston’s 15th roster spot open going into the season.”

The veteran wing’s limited defense could be something that Joe Mazzulla doesn’t vibe with, because he puts so much emphasis on two-way players.

If Walker was the be waived, he can still get the call up to play in the NBA from the G-League and the Celtics get to keep their last roster spot open in case anyone interesting pops up, which is always a good idea.

The former No. 18 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft for the Spurs was great for the Nets in 2023-24.

He came off the bench in all of the 58 games he played in, and averaged d 9.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from three-point range.

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