Earlier on Wednesday, Spurs Guard Devin Vassell didn’t understand how Lonnie Walker IV was still a free agent.
The Boston Celtics agreed with Vassell and have signed Walker to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract, giving him a chance to make the team, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
An Exhibit 10 contract means that Walker will come to training camp with the Celtics and, if he does not make the final roster, would get a bonus if he signed with the Celtics G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws (last season that bonus could be up to $75,000). If he can make the roster, Walker would provide scoring depth on the wing for Boston heading into the marathon of a season.
The Celtics have 14 guaranteed contracts heading into training camp, so they have one more roster spot they can fill. However, since Boston is already a second-apron team deep into the luxury tax, it may choose to keep that roster spot open both to save money and for flexibility in making a trade or other move later.
Vassell was right, the fact Walker was still available is a sign of just how tight the market is. Walker was a reliable scorer off the bench for Brooklyn early last season. However, he missed a month with a knee injury, slumped some on his return, and by the end of the season, interim coach Kevin Ollie was not leaning on him nearly as much.
Walker is a capable NBA rotation player, he deserves at least a guaranteed minimum contract somewhere. If that somewhere is Boston, the defending champions just got deeper and better on a potential steal of a contract.