Lake Show Life’s Jason Reed no longer sees Lonnie Walker IV’s value to the Lakers, and he wouldn’t hate seeing Los Angeles flip the forward to the Boston Celtics for presumably re-routable assets in a bigger deal.
Boston is looking for wing help behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Walker is no longer the starter in Tinseltown due to knee issues that have persisted throughout his five-year career split between San Antonio and L.A. After starting in the first 32 games he appeared in, Walker was off the floor for almost the entire month of January and now comes off the bench.
A small-usage role may be all that’s available for him on a competitive team, but the Celtics can offer the 24-year-old a path to clear minutes as a team reliant on its two starters at the forward spots. Reed suggests the Lakers pull off a deal with Boston that’d see the Cs absorb Walker into the fold while sending out two future second-round picks and Justin Jackson:
If the Lakers won’t use Lonnie Walker IV, the Boston Celtics would be a great landing spot
Walker was having a career-best season before he was de-prioritized from the rotation following an injury, so it’s both understandable that the Lakers were able to find their stride without him and for him to get a bigger role elsewhere if usable assets are on the way back.
Two future second-rounders would be great value for Walker if L.A. was able to get it, while Walker could be a potential situational game-changer should his number be called on for an important stretch in Boston.
Walker was one of several free agent targets who Boston had an interest in but chose Los Angeles this past summer, but his time in purple and gold isn’t boosting his value like it is fellow offseason signee Thomas Bryant.
Perhaps he could get a mulligan via something resembling this proposal from Lake Show Life. It’d be better for the Lakers than Walker hitting the buyout market.