Two hours before the deadline to buy Lonnie Walker IV out of his Euroleague contract with Zalgiris Kaunas, the Philadelphia 76ers resuscitated his NBA dreams. They signed the Reading, Pennsylvania native to a two-year, $3.7 million pact, as first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.
The former San Antonio Spurs first-round pick in 2018 latched on with the Boston Celtics on an Exhibit 10 deal late in the summer. That he had to settle for a training camp invitation speaks to the abundance of talent in the NBA.
It’s also a testament to the impact of the punitive nature of the league’s collective bargaining agreement [CBA]. The penalties that come with a franchise signing someone while they’re over the first or second apron can dissuade them from making moves they may have under the previous CBA.
Meanwhile, teams under those aprons may feel more inclined to attempt to develop players in their early 20s compared to a free agent like Lonnie Walker IV, who turned 26 in December.
“Honestly, going into the offseason, I was hopeful that there was a possibility of getting a guaranteed contract or something of that nature,” Walker told this author at Celtics training camp. “I feel like I have earned that. It’s never on your time. It’s on God’s time. So, for the most part, I didn’t have an expectation. I leave it all up to God. I’m going to work my tail off on the court every single day, consistently, and however the chips may fall, the chips fall.
“But for the most part, I’m not too worried about the things that I can’t control. I can control being on the court, being the best of my capability, and being my best self for my teammates. Sooner or later, the opportunity has to meet the preparation.”
With the NBA’s reigning champions over the second apron, his hope of converting that opportunity into a standard contract was always a long shot. Still, Lonnie Walker IV’s attitude and work ethic earned praise while he was in Boston.
“He had a great training camp,” voiced Joe Mazzulla a day before the Celtics waived the veteran scoring guard. “I liked his attitude, I like his work ethic. I thought he really got acclimated to our defensive system, and I thought he really worked to study the offensive system and how to fit into that. He took advantage of the time that he had, and that’s really all you can ask for.”
“I love Lonnie,” expressed Luke Kornet a day later. “He’s a great player. His energy, joy, and passion,” continued the veteran center, “he’s been great to have around. A joy to play with and a joy to work with.”
One of Walker’s first games back in the NBA was against the franchise he was with during training camp. Before that matchup between the Celtics and 76ers tipped off, Philadelphia’s bench boss, Nick Nurse, shared what led the 76ers to sign the former Miami Hurricanes star as the window to do so was close to slamming shut.
“Lonnie’s obviously been in the league a bit,” said Nurse. “[He] has had some good scoring nights in the league as well. [He’s a] pretty explosive athlete. [He] has some three-point shooting history, track record, pedigree, whatever you want to call it. So, those things. We thought we needed another athletic wing player that could shoot from the perimeter, so we thought we’d give him a shot.”
And while Lonnie Walker IV is still acclimating, his head coach believes he will find his footing in the City of Brotherly Love.
“We really like him,” voiced Nurse after conveying why Philadelphia acquired Walker. “He hasn’t played great, by probably the numbers or his own admission, but I see him coming out of that a little bit. I think he’ll find his feet here.”
The six-year veteran then went out and produced 17 points in 28 minutes off the bench. While it came in a 123-105 loss, Walker shooting 6/13 from the field and converting on 5/10 attempts from beyond the arc was the type of encouraging development Nurse was confident was on the horizon.
In eight games with the 76ers, Walker is averaging 8.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while logging 20.3 minutes per contest. He’s shooting 33.3 percent from three-point range on 5.3 attempts. However, since starting his Sixers tenure 1/12 from behind the arc, the six-foot-four guard is knocking down 43.3 percent of the 6.3 threes he’s hoisting.
Lonnie Walker IV continuing to find his footing and finishing the season strong will go a long way towards whether Philadelphia picks up his $2.9 million club option to extend his NBA dream.
The post Nick Nurse backs former 1st-round pick amid struggles in NBA comeback appeared first on ClutchPoints.
