The Celtics pulled off a surprising addition on Wednesday night, reportedly adding Lonnie Walker IV on an Exhibit 10 contract. That is essentially a training camp tryout contract for a 25-year-old who has averaged 11.2 points per game over the past four seasons, including 76 starts.
Karalis’ analysis:
To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise that Walker was still available. He’s not a world-beater or anything, but he’s athletic, he’s yet to reach his prime, and he shot 38.4% from 3 last season in Brooklyn and 36.5% the year before in Los Angeles.
It’s shocking that Boston was able to get Walker on an Exhibit 10 deal, which is typically used on guys they plan to cut and stash in Maine. I don’t think Walker has fallen into G League territory, so I assume this is just the Celtics' way of making sure Walker can fit and work within the parameters of Joe Mazzulla’s system. If he does well in camp, they can just give him the last roster spot and move on. If not, then there's no added dead money to an already expensive roster.
The immediate consensus reaction to this signing is one of disbelief. Walker has his flaws, but he’s an NBA player. He had eight games of 20 or more points last season and 17 with 15 or more. He had a handful of games where his +/- far outpaced the result of the game (like when he was a +29 in 30 minutes of a five-point win, or a +11 in 20 minutes of a 22-point loss), so he’s capable of being a plus player.
So maybe he’s a little streaky or has some bad defensive stretches. Is that enough to say he’s not worthy of at least a veteran minimum contract on a decent team looking to add a little depth? The idea of him being available on an E-10 deal is so outlandish that I never even considered him as an option for Boston. I thought he was better than that.
That's not to say he’s guaranteed to make an impact on the Celtics, but I’m honestly struggling to see how he doesn’t at least make the team. He’s better than Oshae Brissett, who got 630 minutes over 55 games last season. And considering the Celtics need to dip more into their depth this upcoming season, I think Walker has a strong chance to earn some real rotation minutes.
This is a true no-risk, high-reward move for Boston. If Walker can’t grasp what the Celtics are trying to do, they can just cut him with no penalty whatsoever. If he goes to the G League, then they have an opportunity to try again down the road and give him a little extra money in the process (E-10 contracts offer a $75,000 bonus for players who spend 60 days in the G League after getting cut in camp).
But if he’s at least as good as he’s been, then he can be helpful off the bench. If he’s gotten any better over the summer, then the Celtics will have hit the jackpot.
Lonnie Walker IV vs. Boston last year...
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) August 29, 2024
57% from the floor.
54% (8-13) from three.
Best defensive rating of any Net.
Nets were -18 in 64 minutes with him.
Nets were -64 in 128 minutes without.
Career 59% shooter vs. Boston, his best against any team.
Oh yeah, he's just 25. https://t.co/ZX35bB2o6n
A best-case scenario would be that he climbs all the way up to seventh man on a fully healthy roster. If he has another 38% shooting season from deep while being a decent defender, he could be a direct substitution for Jaylen Brown. He could steal minutes from Sam Hauser and/or Payton Pritchard. It’s not inconceivable that Walker continues to average close to double digits again as a spark off the bench.
Walker shot 40.4% on catch-and-shoot opportunities in Brooklyn last season. They were a run-and-gun team that was unafraid to hoist long bombs, but they weren’t a very good team.
Now put Walker on a team that loves to generate a ton of catch-and-shoot opportunities which, oh by the way, is the defending NBA champion returning every rotation player. Walker got 1.9 “wide-open” shots per game last season. Six Celtics got more than that last season, including 3.2 for Hauser and 2.7 for Pritchard.
I don’t want to overreact to this signing, but there's a chance this becomes a home run for the Celtics. They’ll need to keep their stars’ minutes in check early in the season so there isn’t too much overload after a short offseason. Not only do they not want to overwork Brown or Jayson Tatum, but Jrue Holiday is 34 years old now and not overworking him is a bit of a priority as well. Walker could help the Celtics manage a lot of those minutes.
I’m surprised Walker was still available at this point. That Boston got him at this price is stunning because he has a real chance to become a rotation player this season.