A polarizing summer couldn't end any other way for the Los Angeles Lakers. After failing to acquire its marquee targets in free agency and opting instead to keep almost its entire roster as it was when it lost in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers have now received shocking news.
In what has become a far more common development in recent years, a former beloved Lakers player is now joining the franchise's most bitter rival.
Los Angeles has committed to its current core as it prioritizes the trade market for potential avenues to improvement. It's a divisive approach that will either enable first-year head coach JJ Redick to put his stamp on a 47-win team or prevent him from extending the Anthony Davis and LeBron James era.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the options for external improvement have further dwindled after former Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV signed a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics.
Free agent G Lonnie Walker IV has agreed on a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics, his agent George S. Langberg of GSL Sports Group tells ESPN. Walker IV averaged 9.7 points and shot 38% on three-pointers in 58 games for Brooklyn last season. pic.twitter.com/uAvrtsIQkD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 29, 2024
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Walker was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Contract details for Lonnie Walker IV with the Celtics, sources said: Exhibit 10. An E10 allows Celtics to give a bonus to Walker if he is waived after training camp and plays for the team's G League affiliate in Maine.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 29, 2024
It's a genuinely stunning development based on talent and experience.
Former Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV signs with Boston Celtics
Before you criticize Walker, keep in mind that the second apron has been devastating to role players in free agency. Teams have been terrified of facing the repercussions of the NBA's superteam deterrent, and the inadvertent result has been non-stars struggling to land a new contract.
Walker is a shining example of this as an athletic wing with a solid jump shot who fits the modern mold, but wasn't signed until the end of the second month of free agency.
Los Angeles also had ample opportunity to negotiate with Walker and potentially sign him to a minimum contract. Boston managed to land his talent on an Exhibit 10 deal, which is typically reserved for players who lack NBA experience.
Walker, meanwhile, is a six-year veteran with postseason experience and a strong jump shot that seems to be steadily improving.
It was just over 12 months ago that Walker, who's still just 25 years of age, helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals. He famously scored 15 points in the fourth quarter of a 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors that gave Los Angeles a 3-1 series lead.
Walker then scored 12 points in 14 minutes to help the Lakers close the Warriors out in Game 6, thus clinching the franchise's deepest postseason run since 2020.
This past season, Walker averaged a career-best 1.8 three-point field goals made per game on 38.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. On a per-36 basis, his season averages translated to 20.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.7 three-point field goals made.
As the NBA struggles to ease teams into the new salary cap rules, players with that level of production and postseason experience are being left off of rosters due to financial concerns alone.
It's a disappointing break to see a former Lakers player join the Celtics, but the NBA shoulders the blame on this one.