Veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV is returning to the NBA and will sign a two-year, $3.7 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Shams Charania. Walker, who had been playing overseas for BC Zalgiris in Lithuania, had an NBA out in his deal which had to be activated by Feb. 18.
Walker, the No. 18 overall pick back in 2018, spent the first four seasons of his career with the San Antonio Spurs before playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. Despite scoring 9.7 points per game off the bench during the 2023-24 season, and showing off an improved 3-point shot (38.4% on 4.7 attempts), Walker was unable to secure a guaranteed deal in free agency last summer.
He went to training camp with the Boston Celtics, but despite some impressive moments during the preseason, the Celtics ultimately waived him due to luxury-tax concerns. Instead of heading to the G League, Walker decided to pursue an opportunity in Europe.
In 19 EuroLeague — a continental competition akin to the Champions League in soccer — appearances with Zalgiris, Walker averaged 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 33.3% shooting from 3-point range while playing about 22 minutes a night.
Walker, who grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania, will now join a Sixers team that is in the midst of an extremely disappointing season, largely due to an array of injuries. Joel Embiid has played just 17 times, and their new big three of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey has only spent 252 minutes on the court together.
The Sixers lost their last five games before the All-Star break to fall to 20-34, which has them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the final Play-In Tournament spot. There’s still time for the Sixers to chase down the Bulls, but climbing any higher than 10th seems unlikely given the 5.5-game gap between them and the ninth-place Heat.
Walker should give the Sixers a boost off the bench, especially if he shoots the ball like he did last season in the NBA, but that might be too little, too late at this point.
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