Lonnie Walkers Green Future

[CelticsLoyalist]

After survivng the cut yesterday when the Celtics announced they were letting go the likes of Ron Harper Jr et al, Lonnie remained on the roster with Brad having to make a decision by today and it appears that decision has been reached. Lonnie was reported to be cut from the Celtics leaving that 15th roster spot still open, which many have speculated and expected this outcome.

All is not lost for Lonnie and all the C's fans like me who believe he is worthy of being here. Reports are that more than likely the delay in waiving Lonnie was a show of faith that we would like to keep him around, but all signs point that he will have to do time in the Maine G-League team. Lonnie has progressed to a real NBA pro with starter potential, so being in the G is not ideal for him and unless some other team comes along and offers him a roster spot, I feel we will see Lonnie accept our G team offer. However, there is a very real chance he gets an opportunity to get run somewhere else. I wish him the best and at the same time I really really want to keep Walker and I could easily cut other players on our squad without a second thought before I would consider letting him go which shows you how much I rate him.

One article I read today regarding Lonnie getting cut said, "No one should be rooting against Walker, but no one should be devastated if he doesn't make the team." Well, I for one feel devastated.

[eja117]

I have to assume he just didn't really beat out the young guys like Baylor and Jordan.

[CelticsLoyalist]

Or even Springer for that matter.

However, I really think it came down to numbers more than beating or not beating anyone out. While Lonnie probably is above a number of players we are keeping even the two way guys, we unfortunately already made these deals and "promises" to other players and invested in that.

Lonnie isn't markedly better than say Springer to justify trying to move Srpingers 4 mil contract to sign Lonnie for 2 mil which will ended up costing 10 mil due to lux 2 tier.

SO, surely no GM or team is gonna toss Jordan or Baylor after just investing in them. Especially Jordan who we've heavily invested in already and it looks to be paying off. Lonnie is better than Jordan but by how much and for how long.

I feel bad but this was totally a business decision that unless Lonnie was All-Star tier, doesn't make sense to invest in. We either keep in Maine or he goes somewhere else which he deserves to play.

[CelticsLoyalist]

[jmost]

Some of this is luxury tax related. I read somewhere that it would cost something like $10 mil total to keep him.

The other thing is that "who is better?" may not be as good a question as "who fills this team's needs better?". Walsh's D may be more highly valued than Walker's scoring.

There's also the value of keeping a roster spot open.