Celtics sign Lonnie Walker IV
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
Remember the dude torching BC on a 3 that was almost a buzzer beater but not (under 5 seconds) as a freshman at Miami.
Yup
Fake edit:
Skip ahead to 1:48
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZHL1RS-LLw
Also torched the BU Terriers in OOC earlier in the year for the whole game.
Yup
Fake edit:
Skip ahead to 1:48
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZHL1RS-LLw
Also torched the BU Terriers in OOC earlier in the year for the whole game.
This is the type of move that was never made with the Bird Celtics, adding a young guy to give vets rest.
Well, they did make one attempt that went horribly wrong in a franchise altering way. And, they hit on another such guy in the draft the following year, but that also went horribly wrong in a franchise altering way.
1. The power of being a defending champion means guys will come in and do this.
2. The Exhibit 10 deal allows both sides to evaluate the fit during camp.
Brad can't help himself.
I doubt Walker is the 9th man or even makes the roster, but this is 2 months of cheap injury insurance + opens up trade possibilities.
This has been 3 straight years of great front-office work (as opposed to the mediocre work being done at Fenway
)
I doubt Walker is the 9th man or even makes the roster, but this is 2 months of cheap injury insurance + opens up trade possibilities.
This has been 3 straight years of great front-office work (as opposed to the mediocre work being done at Fenway
)
Not quite unless basketball reference is off
(regular + playoffs)
Tatum: 2645 + 768 = 3413 minutes
White: 2381 + 676 = 3057 minutes
Brown: 2343 + 707 = 3050 minutes
Holiday: 2263 + 720 = 2983 minutes
But DW, JB and JH were very close with minutes played and giving the oldest guy in this group (Holiday turned 34 a couple weeks ago) fewer miles in the regular season is never a bad idea (since he was so important and also so good in the Playoffs).
Love the signing, completely surprised he went with the Cs. My best guess is this a one-year deal to build some value before cashing in somewhere else for Walker, and great insurance for the inevitable injuries/rest that the Cs need. Win-win, even if it seems like a steal from the Cs side.
I'd be way more excited if Brad had signed Bam for the vets minimum as 5-insurance, but a wing that can play D and shoot 3s for Maine. Why not?
I mean, Euclis illustrated pretty well with the graphic he displayed showing Walker is a lot worse than both Hauser and Pritchard.
The LEBRON contract value gives a decent window into how it views the player overall. Based on just last year, the contract worth it awards Walker is less than Brissett's and close to Svi's.
Walker was so bad in 20/21 and 22/23 that LEBRON awards him a negative value contract in the 2 million range.
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Walker is likely a minimum guy from here on out. I doubt anything that he does in the limited minutes will change that. He had a decent year with the Lakers in 2022/2023 yet was only able to get a minimum with Brooklyn last year.
Good rotational depth signing but it feels like if we are getting excited to see him play, we are forgetting what it means. Its either garbage time or someone better is hurt. And Walker, even with his trendline, isn't as effective as the players ahead of him.
Or he grabs minutes to let Jrue and White rest here and there after a long summer.
Also gives PP some competition. If PP is cold he takes a seat for Walker.
Love this. I think that Walker has some upside when being plugged into a juggernaut like this team.
2 people mention this. Red's strategy getting draft picks, and drafting when he had good picks was incredible, but depth was a problem and the one year they had front court depth they were the best team ever. I am aware the depth guy was top 10 or higher at his position playing like a top ten. Alsol Len Bias was not giving DJ and Ainge rest. The Lakers were more aggressive with their bench.
And Red still had a bunch of stinkers in the draft. Yeah, he drafted Bird, McHale, Reggie and Bias. But look at some of his other 1st round selections, particularly in the late 80s and early 90s. We're talking guys like Greg Kite, Michael Smith, Sam Vincent, Acie Earl, and Jon Barry.
Not to derail, but Red, similar to BB drafted and scouted based on recommendations from college coaches he knew and trusted. He liked to see players in person. As the game expanded it was a tough model to continue.
Smith was the pick where he lost his fastball. Even Shaw in 1988 was a solid player (unfortunately not for us).
I'd be shocked if anyone gave up a pick for Walker - considering it seems like any team could have had him for a guaranteed minimum - unless Walker blows up during preseason. I mean really blow up.
My guess is that Walker plays for Maine for a bit while he sees if he can rebuild any value.
Just wait until Walker goes haywire playing for this squad and Brad converts him into the pick used to draft Cooper Flagg.
He has a 6'10" wingspan and 8'4" standing reach, so while he doesn't play much taller, he does play a lot wider than his height.
Brad can take those Ainge & Cronin calls for Peyton now.
Do we want PDX or Utah's first?
Two tidbits about LW4 from this article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/30/sports/celtics-guard-lonnie-walker/.
and
Find Walker in the locker room before a game and you’ll likely see his nose buried in a book. Reading began as something his father required him to do for at least an hour every day after school, but it has now become part of his routine, according to the San Antonio Express-News. As a kid, he wasn’t a fan. But these days, it’s a different story.
“It’s relaxing and dials me in for the game, helps me get focused, get to my zone,” he told the Express-News in 2020.
As of 2021, he was looking to read books similar to Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” or Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.”
and
Since beginning his NBA career in 2018, Walker has spent time in his hometown of Reading, Pa., hosting basketball camps through The Lonnie Walker IV Foundation. His foundation has also hosted Thanksgiving turkey drives, a community gala, winter coat drives, and other philanthropic endeavors in his hometown, as well as in San Antonio and Los Angeles.
In 2019, Reading mayor Eddie Moran presented Walker with the key to the city after Walker hosted a basketball camp at his former high school. According to his bio on Engage, a talent-booking platform, Walker hopes to one day be elected Reading’s mayor.
Love hearing this kind of background. Can we call him the Mayor?
It's unreal. The 1986 Celtics were one of the great teams of all time. Then they drafted Len Bias, which would have given the 1987 squad a front court of: Larry Bird (3x MVP, HOF), Kevin McHale (HOF), Robert Parish (HOF), Bill Walton (HOF), and Len Bias.
Bias dies, then McHale breaks his foot, and the '87 squad loses in the finals to Magic and the Lakers. But without the Bias death and the McHale foot injury (and then Bird's back starts acting up), the Celtics would have continued to be a juggernaut.
And then we can add Reggie Lewis, but there's a good chance he's never on the Celtics if the Bias/McHale stuff doesn't happen.
As a UNC fan.. I was happy that Red drafted Joe Forte.. and then disappointed that he was awful in the NBA. Another pick to add to the list.
He's what you want in a backup but isn't a particularly efficient or smart player. He's at an age where he probably almost is what he is and isn't going to make major leaps.
His athleticism is off the charts, makes lots of spectacular plays, should be matchup nightmare when going against other teams' backups. But, if he's getting major minutes in games that matter then something has probably gone very wrong.
His athleticism is off the charts, makes lots of spectacular plays, should be matchup nightmare when going against other teams' backups. But, if he's getting major minutes in games that matter then something has probably gone very wrong.
PNW Baby. Did you know that we had a heat wave last week with temperatures soaring into the 80s? People were abandoning their down vests and flannel shirts all over the city.
Yep. They would need like 8 players to go down with season-ending injuries for that to be in play
small chance he is ever on the Celtics roster
I think you have to allow for a very small chance--maybe 5% or something--that he can actually be good especially if there is an early injury to one of their guards. You can see a glimmer of playmaking ability that he hasn't really demonstrated. If the C's can get him playing in a team concept, he's got a shot. But agreed the chances are not great.
Is this really the thinking that he won’t even be on the roster? He must have had other opportunities to sign for the minimum right? He has averaged 20 minutes a game for his career I find it hard to think he would sign in Boston if there wasn’t some chatter about playing time.
I doubt there was any chatter about PT. The C's roster/roles are about as set as we've ever seen on a pro team.
Walker's road to a Celtic roster spot
1. Season-ending injury to one of the 14 players on the roster (JAYs, DW, JH, KP, Al, SH, PP, KornXQ, Springer, Baylor, Walsh)
2. Trade that opens up a spot
3. Brad decides to start the season with 15 instead of 14.
Walker is cheap roster insurance... Smart move by Brad
Isn’t there a very plausible world where Walker is bette than Springer, Walsh, and/or Baylor and he just earns the playing time without any injuries?
He is clearly better than Walsh and Baylor and possibly Springer. The issue is the contract. Do the Celtics want to give him a contract, pay the tax, and fill the 15th spot?
They could also trade Springer for a bag of balls, if they think Walker is already better than Springer is likely to get.
You can cut bait on projects, you don't have to become a prisoner to them once you undertake them.
You can cut bait on projects, you don't have to become a prisoner to them once you undertake them.
Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, Hauser and Pritchard will play almost all the non-big minutes outside of garbage time when healthy.
Lonnie could be better than Springer/Walsh/Baylor, and still not play.
Even in the scenario you need to play those guys, they'd probably prefer the younger guys for development purposes.
I'm cool on Walsh & would be fine if they could trade him for a future 2nd while retaining Lonnie.
BUT Jordan is only 20 and the brain trust probably wants to see him in Maine for another season.
This should be true for the playoffs, but those 6 guys missed a combined 45 games last year and I'd take the over this year (considering there were no major injuries and half that group played in the olympics and could really use the rest). Brissett played 630 minutes last year, and Svi/Banton/Stevens combined for 706. Not all of that is garbage time, there will definitely be real rotation minutes available in the regular season for at least one non-big outside the top 8. I'm sure they'd prefer a bigger perimeter player (ideally this would be Walsh but he hasn't shown anything in the last 15 months that leads me to believe he's ready for anything other than garbage time), but Walker is easily the best non-big outside the top 8 and if he's on the roster (big if), I think he'll get reasonable time.
It's true he's older than the likes or Walsh/Baylor/Springer, but he's still just 25 and has flashed more offensive potential than any of them, enough so that he singlehandedly swung a 2nd round playoff game. Development purposes are one thing, but if the team is looking to the future, the 2025 playoffs are far more important than anything after that (meaning Walker being on a one year prove-it deal doesn't mean the team will automatically prioritize other players development over his, even if their rights are under team control for longer), and I see it as far more likely that Walker can contribute next spring than any of the other young guys.