Lonnie Walker IV can get a team a bucket. Last season the 6’4″ guard averaged 9.7 points a game for Brooklyn, and it was 11.7 a game for the Lakers the season before. He showed flashes this season in training camp with Boston but could not land a spot on one of the more established teams in the NBA, so he headed overseas to play for Zalgris in Lithuania.
Now he’s back. Walker had an NBA buyout in his Zalgris contract and has reached a deal with the Philadephia 76ers, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and confirmed by other sources. Walker signed a two-year, $3.7 million contract for the remainder of this season and next with Philly, but that second season is a team option.
Philadelphia is ranked 22nd in the league in offensive rating and needs more depth and shot creation from their guards. Rookie Jared McCain filled that role until a season-ending left lateral meniscus tear, Kyle Lowry has been in and out of the lineup with a right hip injury, and Eric Gordon suffered a right wrist sprain and missed a couple of games before the All-Star break. Walker, 26, walks right into that role as a guard who can create for the team.
Philly sits 11th in the East and lost five games in a row leading into the All-Star break — despite the Sixer’s star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey largely being healthy for that run. Philadelphia needs to start racking up wins fast and climb into the play-in in the East, or management would have to consider a pivot to resting their stars and getting them healthy for next season (and trying to retain their 2025 draft pick, which is top-six protected). Either way, expect Walker to step right into the rotation and help Philly.
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