The Celtics waived Lonnie Walker IV today after he signed an Exhibit 10 contract this offseason. Walker can now go to the G-League and join the Maine Celtics or sign with another team.
In four games with the Celtics this preseason, Lonnie Walker averaged 7.3 points, 2.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds, shooting 42.8% from the field and 31.2% from three-point range.
The writing was seemingly on the wall for Walker as he didn’t play in the Celtics final preseason game on Tuesday against the Raptors, but people were holding out hope that he could still find his way on to the roster. However, the Celtics decided to waive him, leaving the 15th roster spot open.
The Celtics essentially save $11 million by waiving Walker as that’s how much Boston would have to pay if they signed him to a veteran minimum contract. The Celtics currently have a tax multiplier of $3.75 for every $1 they spend over the salary cap. If they signed Walker, the multiplier would be pushed to $4.25 for every $1 and a veteran minimum contract of about $2.1 million would have about an extra $8.8 million in taxes added to it.
Personally, I feel like the Celtics should have signed Walker. He is a proven role player in the NBA and has had success contributing to a playoff team in the past. The Celtics could bring him up at some point during the season if he decides to join the Maine Celtics, but it still would have been nice to have him on the team now. Boston is already spending a quarter of a billion dollars on player salaries this season so you would think it wouldn’t be a problem if they added a little more for Walker, but I guess Celtics ownership didn’t see it that way.
Lonnie Walker is a very good player in this league and it would not shock me if he signs with another team shortly after being waived by the Celtics. If he does join Maine however, he would be joining a pretty stacked team and could be the face of one of the best G League teams on paper.
Lonnie Walker can join Maine for some amount of time and receive a bonus or pursue other NBA opportunities. He told me earlier this training camp he was willing to begin the year in the G-League, as he didn’t have other NBA opportunities over the summer.
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) October 19, 2024
Hopefully, we can see Lonnie Walker in Boston again at some point this season weather as a member of the Celtics or for another team. Either way, I hope he gets another shot to show what he can do.
Be the first to comment