Former Lakers Guard Signs with Rival Celtics

An ultimate Los Angeles betrayal — or just a guy looking to win?

Dec 25, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley (21) and guard Lonnie Walker IV (4) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

One-time Los Angeles Lakers playoff hero Lonnie Walker IV has perpetrated perhaps the ultimate free agency betrayal to his former team.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard inked a new contract with the Boston Celtics. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that Walker has signed an Exhibit 10 training camp contract.

Boston has one opening on its 15-man standard roster. Meanwhile, Drew Peterson, JD Davison and Anton Watson occupy its three two-way contract slots.

As an Exhibit 10 signing, Walker could see his deal converted to a two-way deal, and from there that agreement could be improved to a standard roster agreement. Alternately, the 25-year-old could be waived by Boston. If he signs on with the team's G League affiliate club, the Maine Red Claws, and sticks with that crew for at least 60 days, he'd be in line to earn a bonus of up to $77,500.

The San Antonio Spurs initially drafted Walker with the No. 18 selection in 2018 out of the University of Miami. After logging his first four seasons under Gregg Popovich and company, he inked a one-year, veteran's minimum deal with Los Angeles ahead of the 2022-23 season. As one of the few plus athletes rostered, Walker was a critical part of the club's pre-Russell Westbrook trade days. After the Lakers reconfigured their roster — bringing in D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mo Bamba — Walker found himself a bit lost in the rotational shuffle.

In the playoffs, however, Walker soared again. Following a rash of healthy scratches, Walker scored 15 points in the fourth quarter of a critical Game 4 second round series victory over the Golden State Warriors. He fully carved out a bench role for himself throughout the rest of that semifinals. Los Angeles would go on to advance to the Western Conference Finals that spring, where the club would fall in a clean sweep to the Denver Nuggets.

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During his lone season in Los Angeles, Walker appeared in 56 contests (32 starts), averaging 11.7 points on .448/.365/.858 shooting splits, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 dimes during 23.2 minutes per. Across 13 playoff games with the Lakers that spring, Walker's minutes were reduced to 13.8 per. He averaged 6.2 points on an efficient .483/.382/.750 slash line, along with 0.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

Walker signed a subsequent one-year minimum deal with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 9.7 points on a .423/.384/.763 slash line, 2.2 boards, 1.3 dimes and 0.6 swipes in 17.4 minutes a night.

The Celtics reportedly reached out to the Nets during last season's trade deadline about potentially adding Walker, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

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