Celtics waive Lonnie Walker after 2 days of weird drama

BRIGHTON — According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Boston Celtics have waived Lonnie Walker IV, who was on an Exhibit 10 contract with the team. The Celtics signed Walker to a deal toward the end of free agency, allowing him to play with the team during training camp and the preseason. However, there were early signs that his spot in Boston would be short-lived.

The first time Walker spoke to the media, he talked about his willingness to play in the G League up in Maine. “[Brad Stevens] also mentioned there’s a possibility that I might spend some time in the G-League with Maine, and honestly, I’m perfectly fine with that,” Walker said.”

And now, he may get the chance to do that.

Celtics waive Lonnie Walker IV

Had the Celtics signed Walker to the team’s open 15th roster spot, the cost would have been far more than that of a league-minimum contract. Per Keith Smith of Spotrac, signing Walker would have cost the Celtics $11 million and put them into a new tier of tax multiplicator.

Based on the cost and Walker’s open admittance that Stevens talked to him about spending time in Maine, it should have been fairly obvious that he was unlikely to make the team.

Yet still, when the time came to make a decision, there was still a ton of awkward drama.

On Wednesday, October 16, the Celtics waived Dmytro Skapintsev and signed Hason Ward to a training camp deal. Then, on Thursday, October 17, they waived Ward, Jay Scrubb, and Ron Harper Jr., effectively clearing the way for all of them to play in Maine.

But that left Walker as the lone Exhibit 10 guy on the roster.

The masses immediately began speculating. ‘Does that mean he’s making the team?’ ‘This has to mean something.’ ‘They wouldn’t keep him around if they weren’t signing him.’

And to make matters even more weird, Walker was still at the team’s practice facility on Thursday and Friday. He was posting to his social media late at night on Friday and getting some extra work in.

There were some signs that the Celtics may have been considering keeping him on board, but when it was all said and done, they let him walk.

So, why was there so much drama with the way they handled the situation? Why keep him on board for so long after the other Exhibit 10s? Perhaps the Celtics were just letting Walker get some extra work in at the Auerbach Center for a couple of days.

But now, Walker will be presumably heading to Maine (or hoping to sign a contract elsewhere).