BRIGHTON — The Boston Celtics waived three players on Thursday—Jay Scrubb, Ron Harper Jr., and Hason Ward. All three were on Exhibit 10 contracts, and the moves came shortly after the team parted ways with Dmytro Skapintsev. Those four will all likely spend significant time in Maine this year, and now, Boston only has one Exhibit 10 guy left on the roster—Lonnie Walker IV.
As outlined by Keith Smith of Spotrac, the Celtics have until Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to make a decision, or they will be hit with a per-day tax/cap hit every day that he is on the roster. That may not seem like much, but for a team already encroaching upon the $500 million mark for the roster, even penny-pinching at the ends of the roster is warranted.
But as that difficult decision looms, Boston’s appreciation for Walker remains.
Joe Mazzulla praises Lonnie Walker IV for training camp
After the Celtics practice on Friday, head coach Joe Mazzulla gave some high praise to Walker and the work he put in during training camp.
“He had a great training camp,” Mazzulla said. “I liked his attitude. I liked his work effort. Thought he really got acclimated to our defensive system, and I thought he really worked to study kind of the offensive system and kind of fit into that. I thought he took advantage of the time that he had, and that's really all you can ask for.”
In Abu Dhabi, Walker struggled to find his shot, as he only got a few minutes at the end of each game. But once the Celtics got back stateside, he found his groove.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Walker showed off some impressive playmaking skills. He did a great job of playing within the flow of the offense and setting up his teammates for success.
Then, against the Toronto Raptors, he unleashed his inner bucket. Walker was a flamethrower, exploding for 20 points on 15 shots. His three-ball even looked solid, as he shot 4-for-9 from distance.
All that being said, should the Celtics decide to sign him to the final roster spot, it would cost them $11 million (including taxes). Plus, it would also take them into the next tier of tax penalties.
Wyc Grousbeck has been unafraid to spend for the past couple of years, but spending on a 15th man unlikely to see the floor much could be too expensive for even his taste.
Regardless, Walker has impressed during his time in Boston, so the Celtics have a very difficult choice to make.