NBA Insider: Celtics Have Options To Bring Back Lonnie Walker IV

The Boston Celtics, due to dicey payroll circumstances, parted ways with guard Lonnie Walker shortly after the preseason when adding the finishing touches to their regular season roster, pulling a not-so-surprising trigger.

Since the Celtics did all their spending — investing over $500 million, in fact — to retain nearly all of last season’s roster, there was little to no room left. Boston, out of the blue, signed Walker in free agency on an Exhibit 10 agreement which entitled him to a training camp invitation. Walker, a respected six-year veteran, made the most of his opportunity but the cost (roughly $11 million) was too much to stay on board.

Still, it doesn’t mean Walker is done for good with the Celtics.

“I think there’s absolute possibilities in Boston for Lonnie Walker to be with the Celtics at some point this season,” NBA Insider Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested. “The issues, of course, that were displayed about all over Twitter and the internet has been the fact that the Celtics with their massive payroll being payroll just have such as crazy tax hit for just even a minimum contract. What will make things a lot easier for Boston. … Just keep an eye on the Celtics potentially moving Jaden Springer come February to open up some opportunity to bring on someone like Lonnie Walker or another back-of-the-bench minimum salary player.”

Walker made two preseason appearances for the Celtics, scoring nine points with four rebounds, seven assists and two steals against the Philadelphia 76ers, and then scored 20 points by draining four 3-pointers starting against the Toronto Raptors. Members of the Celtics, including Luke Kornet and Derrick White — who played with Walker as San Antonio Spurs teammates for three-and-a-half seasons — spoke highly of Walker once the announcement was made that the 25-year-old was waived.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also gave Walker his flowers.

“A guy that’s been around the league a long time and has seen different environments. He came in with his head down and just wanted to work and wanted to have an understanding of what it is to play our style of basketball on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said last week at team practice, per CLNS Media. “I thought he did a good job of executing that in the time that he had and I thought he did a great job being patient, executing the role we needed him to and I thought he did a good job in the film room trying to get to the understanding of our system on both ends of the floor.”

Springer, an end-of-the-bench backup guard, will earn roughly $4 million this season as an impending free agent. Considering Springer is a developing youngster and the Celtics are in the midst of a win-now window, it would make sense, theoretically, for Boston to swap out Springer for Walker — someone who can make a difference now.

Either way, now 2-0 to begin their title defense run, the Celtics have plenty of time to weigh their options before making any final decisions.