What can Lonnie Walker bring to Celtics after signing training camp deal?

Just when it looked like things were quiet in Boston, the Celtics made another move to end the summer. Deals get done late in the offseason, though it’s usually with relatively unknown players getting their shot to make an NBA roster.

But the Celtics finished August by signing Lonnie Walker IV to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, a notable name for this kind of move.

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Soon, social media was full of graphics lumping Walker into the Celtics’ rotation. Fans responded by expressing shock that Brad Stevens could nab such a familiar name to a non-guaranteed deal. But the reality is the NBA moves fast and while Walker has something to offer, he’s battling more than just his teammates for a roster spot.

The Exhibit 10 contract for Walker reflects the impact of the new luxury-tax regime. Walker is entering his seventh season and hasn’t grown enough as a playmaker to lock down a rotation spot on a playoff team. The 25-year-old just hit the tipping point of his career where teams are prioritizing younger players with more upside at the end of the bench.

There are plenty of players in the draft who have to make way for the next generation to claim roster spots. It’s the same reason Oshae Brissett is still looking for a new team, even if he showed last year that he is worthy of a roster spot somewhere in this league.

But Walker is battling the luxury tax more than anything heading into training camp. Boston is deep enough into the tax that just signing a player to the full-season minimum is a luxury. Walker signed an Exhibit 10 contract, a non-guaranteed training camp deal that provides him a bonus of up to about $78,000 if he is waived and then signs a G League contract with the Maine Celtics.

The Celtics most likely want to keep that spot open and then eventually add a player later in the season. Unless Walker can prove to be such a dangerous shooter that they can’t live without him. Boston has had good health with its perimeter players the past few years, so it’s mostly prioritized veteran depth at the center position. If the Celtics pick up injuries for their non-centers, there are plenty of players they can sign short term to address that. But there are few free agents available during the year who can catch-and-shoot as well as Walker.

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Walker’s touch fell off late in the season, but he was shooting 42.7 percent on 4.9 3-point attempts a night with the Brooklyn Nets heading into March. There is one particular look he can knockdown consistently, the semi-open spot-up going to his left. He likes to twist his hips around and jumps fairly high, so hopping to his left on the catch gives him the balance he needs to knock the shot down.

This highlight tape from his memorable playoff performance with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 shows most of the package in his game.

Walker can handle just enough to go left over screens and can hit a 20-foot pull-up jumper off the catch, though that shot is not very consistent. The thing he does well is driving hard into space, where he gets high in the air and hits an up-and-under layup over the league’s tallest centers.

There isn’t a lot of variety in his drives and he doesn’t pass that much once he hits the paint, but he is acrobatic enough to get away with it. He has sufficient offensive ability to play in the NBA. The question is whether he can improve his defensive awareness.

On the ball, he can stay in front of players but doesn’t show enough balance to handle physicality well. But as a bench wing, he typically gets the weakside help role and that’s where he most often gets lost. When he’s responsible for helping off a pair of shooters, he’ll often turn his back to his man and get a bit lost when he tries to recover.

Walker’s camp invite may have something to do with Jordan Walsh’s summer league performance, where the second-year wing looked like he needed another year in Maine before being ready to see the floor. While Walsh projects to be a capable defender in the future once he catches up to NBA speed, Walker can at least defend without fouling now and provide floor spacing on offense.

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This is also insurance against rookie Baylor Scheierman struggling to find a rhythm shooting the ball early on, in case the Celtics need someone at the end of the bench who they know can get his shot off. Jaden Springer is the other wing deep in their reserves, but he fills more of an on-ball role on both ends and is a far superior defender to everyone else fighting for playing time.

Considering how important developing bench players is for a second-apron team, Boston should prioritize Scheierman’s growth. But Walker at least is a known commodity at this point who can rip the net and finish over NBA bigs. In all likelihood, he will go to Maine and fight to earn a call-up from the Celtics or some other team at some point in the season.

Now that he is dipping his toes down into the G League, he’ll face the reality that his time in the league may end if he can’t improve his defense. If any franchise is going to help him turn that around, it’s the Celtics.