As a second apron team, the Boston Celtics are limited in the way they can add to it’s roster, so they’re bringing back 13 players from their title team from last season. They also signed a veteran free agent in Lonnie Walker IV to an Exhibit-10 contract.

Walker, who’s entering his 26-year-old season, has six years of NBA experience under his belt with three different teams. He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft and then signed a couple of one year contracts with the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.

In 58-games with the Nets last season, Walker averaged 9.7 points on 42/38/76 shooting splits, grabbed 2.2 rebounds, and made 1.3 assists per game. In 2022-23 with the Lakers, Walker averaged 11.7 points per game on 45/36/86 shooting splits.

It’s surprising to see Walker on an Exhibit-10, but this is a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Celtics. Although they have an open roster spot, it’s not uncommon for them to leave one open to start the season, as GM Brad Stevens has already explained this offseason.

The Exhibit-10 is a training camp invite on a non-guaranteed deal. Furthermore, Walker could end up in the G League and make up to $77,500 to play with the Maine Celtics for at least 60-days and doesn’t make Boston’s roster.

As I said earlier, it’s surprising to see Walker on an Exhibit-10 deal and couldn’t command a higher offer. However, it’s worth mentioning that Walker may have preferred joining the Celtics over another team because of the path that can follow afterwards.

For example, Boston’s bench players have a positive track record of landing big deals for themselves after showcasing themselves with the Celtics. Svi Mykhailiuk signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Utah Jazz after playing a very limited role in Boston’s run to the championship.

It’s also worth mentioning that Dalano Banton landed comfortably in Portland after being traded and the same with Lamar Stevens in Memphis. Although they were traded, Boston made sure to put them in ideal positions for them to thrive.

Walker is 6-foot-4 and can primarily play and defend one through three, but Boston’s guard depth is fine with Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Payton Pritchard, and Jaden Springer.

What Boston needs is adequate depth behind Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum at the wing position. That’s the role Walker will need to play in Boston, but he hasn’t done much of it in his career. According to Basketball Reference, Walker has only played one percent of his career minutes as a power forward.

Joining Walker on Exhibit-10 contracts are Ron Harper Jr., and Tristan Enaruna. There’s also rookie Baylor Scheierman and sophomore Jordan Walsh looking to get into the mix for Boston this season.

Walker is once again betting on himself with this situation. There’s paths all over the place for players to land NBA deals after playing in Boston or in their system in Maine and he’s willing to go through whatever it takes to get there.

I find it hard to believe that Walker will be in the G League. There’s nothing wrong with the Celtics adding him to their roster. If he shows well enough, Walker could be the eighth or ninth man in the rotation.

The overall end game for Walker is to use the Celtics to get reintroduced around the league and hopefully land a long term deal for himself.

It’s a win-win situation for both parties: if Walker wants to go down this road, then he’ll knowingly end up with Boston or in Maine as he bets on himself and prepares for the next season. If the Celtics decide to keep him after training camp, then they get a quality player at a minimum value.

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Photo Credit: Brian Babineau, NBAE Getty Images