3 mistakes the Lakers will definitely regret from this offseason
By Jason Reed
2. Using the MLE on Lonnie Walker IV
At first the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers signing Lonnie Walker IV with the Taxpayer MLE seemed like a good thing. The team was committing to bringing in young players and perhaps Walker could be the same kind of breakout player that Malik Monk was for the team last season.
The problem with that optimism is that Walker has not shown nearly what Monk showed as a member of the Charlotte Hornets before coming to LA. While Walker has had small moments in the league, his overall numbers are not great.
Perhaps the bigger problem is that he just does not make a lot of sense from a schematic fit. The Lakers need wings who can play defense and can hit threes and Walker has not really done either of those things. While he said he is coming to LA to play defense, his track record thus far is not great.
Meanwhile, Walker is below league-average in scoring the basketball as has shot 34.3% from beyond the arc, 41.4% from the field and 78.4% from the free-throw line. That is exactly what the Lakers needed, another guy that can’t make shots from the charity shots late in games.
Los Angeles could have signed someone like Joe Ingles or could have even split up the MLE to sign multiple guys. The market may have been sparce but Walker was perhaps the worst fit of the potential options. The only thing he has going for him is his age as he is 23 years old.