6 Lakers who definitely won’t be back next season
By Jason Reed
2. Lonnie Walker IV
Lonnie Walker IV had a bit of a resurgence in the NBA Playoffs that started against the Golden State Warriors. After falling out of the rotation and not playing outside of garbage time in round one, Walker became a prominent rotation player and even won Game 4 for the Lakers to take a 3-1 series lead.
While Walker was a great story and that may have helped his future, there are simply too many other things that the Lakers need to focus on this offseason. There are several impending free agents that are going to be higher on the priority list than Walker.
Plus, his postseason heroics probably raised his value in a thin free-agent class this summer. It was great to watch but the Lakers are not going to get in a bidding war with a player that they initially were not comfortable with even playing in the playoffs.
Lakers not re-signing Lonnie Walker IV is all about the bigger picture
If Walker is willing to return to Los Angeles on a minimum deal then great but the chances of that happening are slim to none. While the emotional reaction is to ask for him to return after that second round against the Warriors, it is not the best decision in the grand scheme of things.
Walker made the MLE contract he was given worth it with his performance in the playoffs. But let’s not pretend like it was always pretty.