Lonnie Walker

Hind sight is 20/20 vision even for a savvy GM like Brad Stevens.

The unreasonable contract on this team is the one for Jaden Springer.  

He signed a 4 year deal when drafted by the Sixers.  Years 1-3 were for $2 million, $2.1 and $2.2 million. The poison year is the one that the Celtics owe now.  $4 million for the last year of the contract.   We gave up a 2nd rounder when we signed him which was not a lot to part with but now he has one of those contracts that is well above the veteran minimum and could only be moved to a team with an open roster spot and an exception that could be used.  

There are 10 teams with a 14 man roster including Boston  (Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Cleveland, NYK, Memphis, San Antonio, GSW  and Phoenix)  

Of that group, 6 teams have both an open roster spot and an exception that could absorb Springer's $4 million contract.  No one is looking to take on $4 million in salary unless the Celtics were willing to part with a 2nd round pick. (Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, NYK and GSW)

Last October Brad could have passed on the Club option on Springer and he would have been off the books already.    Springer remains in a developmental stage.  His strength is defense but he has never displayed the acumen as a PG to run an offense.  His offense remains a work in progress.  If he gets to play more this year then maybe keeping him is not a bad outcome but as it stands now, his addition does not appear to have been a good value proposition by Brad Stevens.  

It will be interesting to see if any team picks Lonnie up.  By the way, Landry Shamet also got waived by the knicks.  (Dislocated right shoulder)  Maybe Walker could make it in NY?  i wish him the best.

Rumor du Jour is that Real Madrid is interested in Lonnie.

It's pretty amazing, to me, that it's Tuesday (he was waived on Saturday and the whole league knew that was the deadline for the Celtics to make a decision) and he hasn't found an NBA home.  What am I missing?


Quick impromptu poll:  If you could only keep one, and $ weren't an issue, who would you keep?  Baylor Scheierman or Lonnie Walker IV?  Assume Scheierman could be traded for cash or for a future draft pick, so the net impact on the team's salary is approximately zero.


Scheierman

Pro:  He's a rookie and we don't really know what he can and cannot do in the NBA.  He's under contract for another 4 years for a pretty reasonable amount.  He seems to have above average court vision for a rookie.

Con:  Slow of foot.  A good shooter in college but hasn't hit a damn thing since being drafted (Aaron Nesmith 2.0 or, even worse, James Young?  Yikes!).


Lonnie Walker IV

Pro:  A proven NBA scorer, a 6 year veteran.  Is used to coming off the bench and producing. Willing to work cheap, probably for same amount as Scheierman (the luxury tax affects Scheierman's contract just as much as it would affect Walker's).

Con:  Defense?  I didn't see poor defense from him in pre-season but that may just be me.


Bob


.

I vote for Lonnie Walker IV. We’re a veteran team that is in a win now (and later) mode. I believe he can be a reliable scorer off the bench. And as far as defense goes, he should know that if he lacking on the defensive end Coach Joe will glue his butt to the bench and GM Brad will unemploy him with a quickness.

The rookie has given me little hope, but he was a 4 year student/athlete, so I suppose we are supposed to have patience, but....in my mind, I would take Walker

I do not see Baylor helping us repeat.  Lonnie could have helped immediately.

Baylor could improve over time if he can play at the pace of  an NBA game.  He will have a chance to work on everything up in Maine.

Lonnie could have become a +net rating guy but as I documented a while back, he has a negative net rating in every year that he has played.  

I wish him the best.  A couple of years over in Europe could be good for him.

The funny thing about this is that, at draft time, NBA execs were saying that the Celtics may have pulled off a steal??? Am I missing something?

Well, I found Lonnie Walker IV.  He's playing in the Lithuanian League.

I didn't even know Lithuania has a basketball team, much less a league.  

What is wrong with Lonnie Walker IV that he couldn't even hook up with a team in a respected league?  The only thing that I can think of is that his contract has an escape clause in case an NBA team comes calling.  China won't offer that, and I doubt Real Madrid or Maccabi Tel Aviv would either.


Bob


.

Walker’s debut was reportedly terrible.
With every NBA team taking a pass and a slow start overseas, he must not be worth consideration.

NYCelt wrote:Walker’s debut was reportedly terrible.
With every NBA team taking a pass and a slow start overseas, he must not be worth consideration.

NYCelt,

A scoreless debut, but he bounced back in his 2nd game with game high 19 points, shooting 7-11 and 4 3s.  1 assist, 1 block.






Bob


.

Maybe there is some life left in his game after all.

Perhaps it was just a matter of adjustment.

His time in the NBA may be done, but it would be nice to see him be one of the many US players that can extend their career overseas.