Earlier Wednesday, Spurs guard Devin Vassell couldn’t understand how Lonnie Walker IV was still a free agent.
The Boston Celtics accepted Vassell’s offer and signed Walker to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract, giving him a chance to make the team. a story revealed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
An Exhibit 10 contract means Walker will come to training camp with the Celtics and, if he doesn’t make the final roster, he’ll receive a bonus if he signs with the Celtics’ G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws (last season, that bonus was up to $75,000). If he can make the roster, Walker would provide Boston with depth on the wing heading into the marathon of a season.
The Celtics have 14 guaranteed contracts heading into training camp, so they have one more roster spot to fill. However, since Boston is already a second-tier team, deep in the luxury tax, it could choose to keep that roster spot both to save money and to have the flexibility to make a trade or other move later.
Vassell was right that Walker is still available is a sign of how tight the market is. Walker was a reliable backup scorer for Brooklyn early last season. However, he missed a month with a knee injury, had a slowdown upon his return and by the end of the season, interim coach Kevin Ollie wasn’t counting on him as much.
Walker is a rotation-capable player, he deserves at least a guaranteed minimum contract somewhere. If that somewhere is Boston, the defending champs just got deeper and better thanks to a potential contract steal.
