The reason Lonnie Walker likely won’t make Celtics roster is out of his control

When the Boston Celtics signed Lonnie Walker IV to an Exhibit 10 contract toward the end of the summer, fans were ecstatic. Walker is a name most people know, as he’s been in the league for six years now, spending last season with the Brooklyn Nets. Most believe he should have received a contract elsewhere.

Through the first two games of the preseason, Walker looked rough, but since the Celtics have returned stateside, he’s been great. He flashed some impressive playmaking skills against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, and on Sunday night, he torched the Toronto Raptors, pouring in 20 points.

Yet after all that, he’s still a long shot to make the Celtics’ 15-man roster, and the reason is wholly out of his control.

Lonnie Walker IV's chances of making Celtics roster are seriously impacted by taxes

The issue with signing Walker to the 15th roster spot is not the minimum salary he would earn. It’s the massive tax bill that would come with it.

Bobby Manning of CLNS Media referenced the issue on Twitter, and Keith Smith of Spotrac broke it down even further, noting that bringing Walker on board would put the Celtics into a new tax bracket.

“Right now, the Celtics are at a $3.75 tax multiplier for every $1 spent,” Smith explained. “Keeping Walker would nudge them to the next bracket and put them at a $4.25 tax multiplier for every $1 spent. For Walker, who would be on the vet minimum of about $2.1M, that would be an additional tax hit of nearly about $8.8M. So, in total, to keep Walker, it would cost the Celtics nearly $11M in total.”

Walker’s last two games were enough to raise some eyebrows, but the harsh reality is he would still likely be an end-of-the-rotation guy for the Celtics. And paying a ton of extra money to keep him around likely isn’t worth it to ownership.

On top of all that, Wyc Grousbeck and his family are in the midst of selling the team, so adding what could be viewed as unnecessary expenses to the books isn’t in their best interest at the moment.

Payton Pritchard and Jaden Springer are fully capable of filling the gaps should Boston run into any injury issues with Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, and the same can be said about Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, and Baylor Scheierman on the wing.

Walker certainly looks more NBA-ready than guys like Springer and Scheierman, but those two are on guaranteed contracts already. Spending $11 million for someone who would be a slight upgrade that deep into the rotation almost certainly isn’t going to happen.