There is officially hope for the Boston Celtics fans who fell in love with Lonnie Walker IV during his short preseason stint with the team. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, Walker still has some fans in Boston’s front office.
“It’s confusing as to why he’s not on an NBA roster right now,” Fischer said. “I think there’s absolute possibilities in Boston for Lonnie Walker to be with the Celtics at some points this season… I would not rule out Lonnie Walker being a member of the Boston Celtics big club at some point this year.”
Just last weekend, the Celtics made the decision to waive Walker IV and his non-guaranteed contract, despite having an open roster spot for him. As many have pointed out, the financial penalties for even further exceeding the salary cap would’ve cost Boston an additional $11 million had they given the swingman a veteran minimum.
So, what’s changed?
Well, nothing… yet.
Fischer mentioned that the Cs had put out exploratory calls to teams around the league with the goal of offloading Jaden Springer in mind. Those calls, though unproductive in the preseason, could heat back up again as the February trade deadline grows closer.
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Though he is an exciting prospect, the 22-year-old Springer just doesn’t fit into the Celtics’ rotation. It’s tough to compete with the likes of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard for playing time with the three-point loving Cs, especially when you’ve got a career shooting clip of just 22.6% from distance. On top of that, his deal expires after the season. So, if Boston wanted to keep him around, they’d likely have to give him a bit of a raise, too.
It wouldn’t be remotely shocking if there were a team (or teams) out there who grow interested in taking a chance on the former Philadelphia 76ers guard by the deadline. He’s a solid defender who plays hard. If a team believes they can grow his offensive game, then it would make sense for them to take a flier on him.
Boston can only avoid Springer’s salary counting towards their cap hit by trading him. If they were to simply cut him in favor of Walker, they’d still owe him his cash.
Though there aren’t minutes awaiting Walker upon a potential return, his game is currently better suited to help the Celtics than Springer’s is. He has the ability to create for himself and can even get hot from beyond the arc.
