Lonnie Walker has played some really good basketball with the Celtics over the course of the last two preseason games. Going into the second game of a back-to-back and a 9-point performance on Saturday, Walker dropped 20 points on the Raptors shooting 8-15 from the field and 4-9 from three. This performance could beg the question, “Why isn’t Walker signed to a guaranteed contract yet?” But due to the Celtics salary cap constraints, there’s a chance Lonnie Walker ends up in Maine or another team at the end of the preseason.
Lonnie Walker signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics at the start of training camp. This is a non-guaranteed deal through the preseaon that gives a player the chance to compete for a roster spot. Normally, a player signed to this deal ends up getting waived and spending most of the season with that team’s G League affiliate. The most important part about an Exhibit 10 deal is that it doesn’t count towards the salary cap. That is how the Celtics, who are very much over the cap, were able to bring in Walker in the first place.
However, unlike most players who sign an Exhibit 10 contract, Lonnie Walker has been a contributing role player in the NBA for a few years now and his free agency was a bit of a surprise. Walker decided to sign this prove-it deal with the Celtics because he’s willing to do anything to be a contributor to a contender and he has shown it. If Boston did want to sign Walker to a guaranteed contract however, they would have to be willing to have around an extra $11 million on the books.
According to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, the Celtics currently have a $3.75 tax multiplie for every $1 they spend on salaries. If they signed Walker, this would make the multiplier go up to $4.25. Walker’s salary on a veteran minimum contract would be about $2.1 million and with the $4.25 tax multiplier, that would add around an additional $8.8 million, making the cost of Walker to be around $11 million.
Right now, the Celtics are at a $3.75 tax multiplier for every $1 spent. 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… https://t.co/8E8KrQnHYE
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 14, 2024
There are different ways for the Celtics to still sign Walker. They could trade a player like Jaden Springer to make room on the salary cap or just sign Lonnie Walker outright and have Brad Stevens try his best to cut salary by the trade deadline when the contracts of players like Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, or Neemias Queta are trade-eligible.
This is a big gamble and almost not worth it if you’re the Celtics who should be using the trade deadline to look for ways to improve the team for another possible deep playoff run. The Celtics ownership is also already committing a little over a quarter of a billion dollars to player salaries this season and they may not want to pay an extra $11 million for Walker who would probably be the 12th-15th man off the bench.
As of right now, I don’t think the Celtics are willing to shake up the team right now to sign Lonnie Walker. However, his play throughout the preseason so far has, at the very least, made the Celtics think about not wanting to lose him. You never know what Brad Stevens has up his sleeve as he is always looking to make the Boston Celtics the best team possible to win another championship and I trust that whatever he does, he will make the correct decision.
