The one player the Celtics should sign instead of Lonnie Walker IV

Lonnie Walker IV is a very talented basketball player. When the Boston Celtics signed him to a contract at the end of free agency, fans were excited. When it was announced that the deal was only an Exhibit 10, the excitement turned to confusion. How could such a good player not land a contract?

So, the Celtics, despite not having much wiggle room on their roster, gave Walker a chance. And he looks solid during the preseason. Now, this is the guy who every Celtics fan is paying attention to right now, but unfortunately, he probably won’t make the roster. It would cost the Celtics $11 million to bring him on board (because of the tax apron penalties), and that’s simply not worth it for a 15th man on the roster.

Plus, for as impressive as Walker was for a couple of games, his playstyle doesn’t really fit with this Celtics group. His three-point shot looked good on Sunday against the Raptors, but only when he got to take a bunch in a row.

Celtics should sign Drew Peterson instead of Lonnie Walker IV

Walker seems more like a microwave scorer than a catch-and-shoot guy, and Boston isn’t built to have that type of player coming off the bench. They play a very team-oriented style of basketball. It seems as though he needs a bunch of shots to generate a rhythm. He won't get that in Boston.
Payton Pritchard can play the microwave role, but he’s also capable of simply catching and shooting. At the end of the day, while having a guy like Walker at the end of the bench would be cool, it’s wholly unnecessary.

If the Celtics were going to sign anyone to the final roster spot, they should look at Drew Peterson. But not right now.

Thinking back to last year, the Celtics were in a very similar position. They had a roster spot open all year but decided not to fill it.

There was a ton of chatter about them leaving the slot open for a potential Blake Griffin return, but that never happened. Instead, they waited for most of the year and then converted Neemias Queta’s two-way contract to a standard deal.

They can do the same thing with Peterson.

Not only would it cost less than signing Walker right now, as they would pay a prorated salary at that point (and Peterson’s fewer years of experience mean he would garner a smaller price, anyway), but he’s a better fit on the Celtics than Walker.

Walker’s microwave scoring means he’s not as consistent. His three-point numbers were great last year, but that’s only because he was red-hot before the All-Star break. After the break, he shot just 30.8% from deep.

Peterson, on the other hand, is a capable three-point shooter who is also able to put the ball on the floor and make plays for others.

And while Peterson has a small frame, he looked more comfortable within the Celtics’ defense during the preseason. Walker has a better build for defense, but he was getting a bit scrambled at times. He would lose his assignment or get caught ball-watching, and the other team was able to get some good looks as a result.

All in all, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Celtics to sign Walker, especially from a financial perspective.

Waiting until later in the year and then converting Peterson’s contract makes a lot more sense, and he’s very deserving of a chance with how well he played during the preseason.