Celtics
Boston had until 5 p.m. Saturday to convert Walker’s contract to guaranteed salary or waive it.
Lonnie Walker played in four preseason games with the Celtics. Martin Dokoupil/AP Photo
Lonnie Walker IV will not be on the Celtics’ active roster to open the season.
Boston waived the veteran wing ahead of Saturday’s 5 p.m. draft deadline, ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Shams Charania reported. Walker can either sign with another NBA team or join the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.
Walker, 25, signed a No. 10 deal with the Celtics in late August. Some considered Walker’s decision to sign with Boston to an Exhibit 10 contract as a surprise, as it only guaranteed him a spot on the team until the end of the preseason.
Walker’s quest to make the Celtics’ opening day roster has been one of the major storylines surrounding the team during training camp and the preseason. He appeared in four of the Celtics’ five preseason games, scoring 7.3 points in 16.4 minutes per game. He scored 20 points in a win over the Raptors on Sunday.
Even though the Celtics have an open spot and Walker has seemingly impressed in the preseason, adding the veteran win to the team’s opening day was a bit more complex than that. Had the Celtics added Walker to their roster on a veteran’s minimum contract, they would have incurred nearly $10 million more in luxury tax penalties.
Although Walker will not be on the Celtics’ active roster, head coach Joe Mazzulla praised him when speaking with reporters Friday.
“He had a great training camp,” Mazzulla said of Walker. “I liked his attitude. I liked his work ethic. I thought he really got used to our defensive system, and I thought he really worked to study the offensive system and how it fit together. I thought he made the most of the time he had, and that’s really all you can ask for.
When Walker signed with the Celtics in August, he shared that Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens told him that maybe he should play a little in Maine. Walker said he was “perfectly OK” with the possibility when he spoke to reporters at media day in September.
“You have to take it on the chin, you have to continue to work, you have to continue to be prepared and stay ready,” Walker told reporters at the time.
Walker has apparently enjoyed his time with the Celtics. He shared on social media last week that he was “so happy” to experience his time in Boston. Late Friday night, Walker shared on social media that he was training at the Auerbach Center.
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