Lonnie Walker was the Boston Celtics‘ only free agent addition during the 2024 NBA Offseason. After being added to the reigning champions, who kept most of theirccore intact, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla gave his first thoughts on the new Celtic.
Mazzulla praised Walker’s overall abilities as a player in an interview with NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner.
“He’s been around the league for a long time, he’s played in a lot of games. So he’s got experience, he’s the ability to score, and he can impact the game on the defensive end,” Mazzulla said.
However, Mazzulla sent a strong message about what Walker has to do to fit with the Celtics.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who you are — we just want guys to come in and work hard, pay attention to the details. Be your best self and fill the best role you can for the team.”
Walker established himself as a scorer with the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics have a remaining roster spot that he could take. However, since they are well into the NBA’s luxury tax, signing him to a veteran’s minimum will cost a lot.
Reporters Cast Doubt on Lonnie Walker Making Celtics
The Celtics signed Walker to an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning there’s no guarantee he will make the team. Though Walker has a solid NBA resume, MassLive’s Brian Robb was pessimistic he would make the team.
“It’s probably not as high as people think, and that’s largely a byproduct of the Celtics situation. There are financial incentives not to carry Walker on the roster since he would be costing the team millions more in tax penalties, even on a veteran’s minimum deal,” Robb wrote in an August 30 story.
Robb outlined how Walker could make the team while giving him low odds.
“If Walker comes in and wins over Joe Mazzulla in training camp as a trusted bench option on nights the team is down bodies (Horford, Porzingis, etc.) maybe he earns a spot right away. It would take quite the performance to do that though in my opinion. I’d peg his odds of making the team around 30 percent.”
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported something similar in an August 29 story.
“I’m told there’s a chance Walker is waived after camp to keep Boston’s 15th roster spot open going into the season.”
Lonnie Walker Sends Message After Arriving in Boston
When Walker arrived in Boston, he sent a message via his personal Instagram that he was ready for what awaited him. Walker posted a story of him getting picked up at the airport with the caption, “This chapter is gonna be one hell of a story,” which was aggregated by Celtics on CLNS’ X account.
Walker knows he has a mountain to climb if he wants to play for the Celtics. One possibility is that he may play well enough to get a roster spot. Another Celtic, like Jordan Walsh or Jaden Springer, could be on a new team to make room for Walker.
Matt John covers the NBA for Heavy.com. A Massachusetts native, he has covered the NBA since 2018, with stops at The Sporting News, FanSided, Basketball News and Basketball Insiders. More about Matt John
