Celtics Waiving Lonnie Walker IV

The Celtics are waiving Lonnie Walker IV, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Instead of keeping a full 15-man standard roster, Boston will head into the season with an open slot.

There was some speculation that Walker had done enough to make the team. He played well in the preseason, averaging 7.3 points in 16.4 minutes per game across four appearances. He’s also a young, six-year NBA veteran who holds career averages of 9.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG.

However, the Celtics are about $7MM over the second tax apron, so keeping Walker without trimming salary elsewhere would have resulted in about $8.8MM in extra projected tax penalties on top of his $2.1MM cap hit, meaning it would have cost about $11MM in total to keep him for the season.

As we mentioned earlier Saturday, the Celtics could have kept Walker on the 15-man roster and tried to reduce their tax payment later in the season with a trade or two. Instead, they’re opting to move on from the veteran guard, at least for now.

Walker is a candidate to be claimed off waivers by a team with an opening on its roster and a need for a high-scoring guard. The Celtics’ decision to waive Walker could be an indication that they don’t view that as a likely outcome — or they’re fine if it does happen. The Miami product didn’t agree to a deal until late August, sitting on the free agency market for about two months. So if guaranteed offers didn’t materialize then, they may not this time around either.

Walker was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract, so he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine. Over the course of his career, Walker has been a proven commodity, so if he doesn’t get claimed or signed by another team at this time, the Celtics could revisit him later while keeping him in their system. Of course, even if he plays in Maine, Walker would be free to jump ship for another NBA team at any point this season.

Walker was not eligible for a two-way contract because he holds six years of NBA service.

By waiving Walker, the Celtics regular season roster looks set. They have 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.