The Celtics are bringing in a familiar name to their loaded backcourt for training camp as Brad Stevens continues to put the final touches on the roster. Former Nets guard Lonnie Walker has agreed to a one-year deal with Boston, a league source confirmed to MassLive. The contract is an Exhibit 10 deal which makes the pact non-guaranteed. Walker can receive a bonus worth $77,500 if he doesn’t make the team but elects to play for the Maine Celtics in the G-League for at least 60 days. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com was first to report the deal.
Walker is one of the better guards that remained on the free agent market this September. The 25-year-old averaged 9.7 points and 2.2 rebounds for the Nets as a reserve last season, appearing in 58 games. He also shot 38.4 percent from 3-point range, his best mark since the 2019-20 season.
The athletic guard gambled on himself with a veteran’s minimum deal last season in Brooklyn but with that team looking to rebuild, it appears he’s looking to gamble on himself again by trying to earn a roster spot in Boston. Boston currently has 14 players signed to guaranteed deals but have regularly kept a final roster spot open for flexibility at the start of the season. Offseason surgery for big man Kristaps Porzingis has also put a bit of a premium on big-man depth to begin the year for the team so an additional injury in the frontcourt could lead to the front office adding another big. However, Walker could be another spark plug option off the bench behind Payton Pritchard if he impresses in training camp and makes the team. That would give the Celtics a potential upgrade over the departed Svi Mykhailiuk in the backcourt.
Walker was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft and spent the first four years of his career in San Antonio before a couple of stops with Lakers and Nets. He has averaged 9.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game over six seasons on 42.2% shooting from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range.
