Per Woj: Celtics sign Lonnie Walker (waived)

[jambr380]

In response to Roy?s last post:

Of course 2nd round picks come even cheaper, but I thought the whole point of having minimum vets only count as 2 year vet min contracts on the cap sheet was so that teams weren?t hesitant to sign guys with more experience. In the case of the Celtics, the difference in the Walsh and Walker contracts can add up to actual money, but most teams aren?t so ridiculously over the cap that it should matter much.

As for Walker himself, if he is willing to wait it out, I very much expect him to eventually get signed by the Celtics. Either as a 15th man much later in the season or as a replacement for someone like Springer if he is dealt into a TPE or cap space. Now that would be a huge money saver.

Unrelated, but I can?t post from any browser on my laptop or even log out. Something about my session timing out and having to resubmit my message.. Glad that I can at least use my phone, but it would be great to post from my laptop again.

[Goldstar88]

Turns out no team in the NBA wants Walker on their roster on a min contract. That is surprising, but the reality. He just isn?t that good. Not even good enough that any team wanted him as their 15th guy.  Again, I am surprised but 29 other teams agree with the Celtics on this one.

I don't think it's that he's not good enough.  But, contenders are looking for ultra-cheap guys (think Jordan Walsh), and non-contenders are looking for upside.  With three 2-way players, teams can deal with depth issues.  There's not a lot of room for the 10th best guy on a team anymore.

But, is Walker a top-450 basketball player?  Easily.

Sure, teams, including contending teams, have players on rookie contracts taking up roster spots. And whether Walker is a top 450 player or a top 350 player doesn?t matter much. Those last 50 to 100 players in the NBA are pretty interchangeable. Bottom line is that no team in the NBA thought Walker would help them. It seemed Like he could help the Celtics but I am not so sure. In any case, we will never know since he doesn?t seem like he will be playing in the NBA.

Brissett is another surprising one. I thought he helped the Celtics at times last season and could surely help a team this season. But he is still out there.  I like reset better than I like Walker. But in the end, neither is likely to make any difference.

I don?t think that?s the case. Seems to have more to do with the financial constraints teams are dealing with.

[Big333223]

  This was a weird one for me. Why bring him on at all? It?s over my head. I think people saying something behind the scenes makes sense.

To push the younger guys.   To see how a vet that can be added later in the year fits.   As a favor to the agent to show off one of their clients.

The Celtics can pay him a bonus if he plays in Maine. Maybe they liked him but know they can keep him in the system this way. They got a good long look at a guy who can potentially help if they find a trade partner for one of the other guys they actually like less.

The team is doing their due diligence and keeping their options opened. That's good business. 

[Kernewek]

Turns out no team in the NBA wants Walker on their roster on a min contract. That is surprising, but the reality. He just isn?t that good. Not even good enough that any team wanted him as their 15th guy.  Again, I am surprised but 29 other teams agree with the Celtics on this one.

I don't think it's that he's not good enough.  But, contenders are looking for ultra-cheap guys (think Jordan Walsh), and non-contenders are looking for upside.  With three 2-way players, teams can deal with depth issues.  There's not a lot of room for the 10th best guy on a team anymore.

But, is Walker a top-450 basketball player?  Easily.

Sure, teams, including contending teams, have players on rookie contracts taking up roster spots. And whether Walker is a top 450 player or a top 350 player doesn?t matter much. Those last 50 to 100 players in the NBA are pretty interchangeable. Bottom line is that no team in the NBA thought Walker would help them. It seemed Like he could help the Celtics but I am not so sure. In any case, we will never know since he doesn?t seem like he will be playing in the NBA.

Brissett is another surprising one. I thought he helped the Celtics at times last season and could surely help a team this season. But he is still out there.  I like reset better than I like Walker. But in the end, neither is likely to make any difference.

I'd say it matters quite a bit, actually, given that the NBA isn't made up of the top 450 players in the world, but it absolutely features the top 300. There are lots of guys who are better than a lot of end-of-the-bench in the league who aren't in it for a variety of reasons, so the pool of guys - who, as you rightly point out, are largely interchangeable in real roster terms -  for those last 50-100 spots is much, much wider than the pool for being No. 1- No.349 (or whatever cutoff you want to put).

Still a tiny percentage of the world's basketball players, of course.

[86MaxwellSmart]

At this point, why are we questioning Brad's moves? We will find out later.

[Vermont Green]

To put this another way, is Walker better than Svi Mykhailiuk?  How much did Svi help?  Utah could have had either but picked Svi.  Again, I am surprised that there is no spot in the NBA for Walker, but that is the case.  I also don?t think Walker would have contributed any more than Svi. 

[Roy H.]

Lonnie Walker IV has found a new home.
Walker has signed a deal with the Zalgiris Kaunas of the Euroleague.

[Silas]

So long Lonnie, we hardly knew ye!

[Birdman]

Lonnie Walker IV has found a new home.
Walker has signed a deal with the Zalgiris Kaunas of the Euroleague.

ugh!!! Really wanted him

[Goldstar88]

However 

@ShamsCharania
Lonnie Walker IV will sign with Zalgiris Kaunas of the Euroleague, agent George S. Langberg of GSL Sports Group tells me and @BobbyMarks42. The deal will include an NBA buyout clause until Feb. 18. The 25-year-old G has averaged 10 points in 20 minutes a game in six NBA seasons.

[Phantom255x]

Per Marc Stein:

Lonnie Walker IV is drawing NBA interest and can be bought out of his ?algiris contract in the EuroLeague by any NBA team until Feb. 18.

Potential suitors said to include Sixers, Wolves, Heat, Nuggets and Celtics. Walker went to camp with Boston.

Bring him back C's. No-brainer. He can help with bench scoring when things dry up and the shots aren't really falling for PP/Hauser

[Surferdad]

Per Marc Stein:

Lonnie Walker IV is drawing NBA interest and can be bought out of his ?algiris contract in the EuroLeague by any NBA team until Feb. 18.

Potential suitors said to include Sixers, Wolves, Heat, Nuggets and Celtics. Walker went to camp with Boston.

Bring him back C's. No-brainer. He can help with bench scoring when things dry up and the shots aren't really falling for PP/Hauser

Hauser is clearly still hobbled by his back issue. His defense looked pretty bad in the 2nd Pacers game.

[Birdman]

Need help badly for the bench

[Who]

I heard he was playing very well in Europe.

A top player over there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKprJNZXs0E

[hwangjini_1]

I heard he was playing very well in Europe.

A top player over there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKprJNZXs0E

would the celtics need to "eject" a player to bring walker in? if so, whom should be ejected? (my bet is springer).