Celtics
Boston had until 5 p.m. on Saturday to either convert Walker’s contract to a guaranteed salary or waive him.
Lonnie Walker IV will not be on the Celtics’ active roster to open the season.
Boston waived the veteran wing ahead of Saturday’s 5 p.m. roster deadline, ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Shams Charania reported. Walker can either sign with another NBA team or join the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.
Walker, 25, signed an Exhibit 10 with the Celtics in late August. Some viewed Walker’s decision to sign with Boston on an Exhibit 10 contract as a bit of a surprise, as it only guaranteed him a roster spot through the end of the preseason.
Walker’s quest to make the Celtics’ opening day roster was one of the top storylines surrounding the team in training camp and the preseason. He appeared in four of the Celtics’ five preseason games, scoring 7.3 points in 16.4 minutes per game. He scored 20 points in a win over the Raptors on Sunday.
Even though the Celtics have an open roster spot and Walker seemingly impressed in the preseason, adding the veteran win to the opening day squad was a little more complex than that. If the Celtics added Walker to their roster on a veteran minimum contract, they would have incurred nearly $10 million more in luxury tax penalties.
While Walker won’t be on the Celtics’ active roster, head coach Joe Mazzulla gave him some praise when he spoke with reporters Friday.
“He had a great training camp,” Mazzulla said of Walker. “I liked his attitude. I liked his work ethic. I thought he really got acclimated to our defensive system, and I thought he really worked to study the offensive system and how he fit in. I thought he took advantage of the time that he had, and that’s really all you can ask for.”
When Walker signed with the Celtics in August, he shared that Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told him he might have to play in Maine for a bit. Walker said he was “perfectly fine” with that possibility when he spoke with reporters at media day in September.
“You gotta take it on the chin, you gotta continue to work, you gotta continue to be prepared and just keep being ready,” Walker told reporters at the time.
Walker has seemingly embraced his time with the Celtics. He shared on social media last week that he’s “so happy” to experience his time in Boston. Late Friday night, Walker shared on social media that he was working out at the Auerbach Center.
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