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The choice to signal free agent guard Lonnie Walker was a risky one for the Los Angeles Lakers. Whereas signing a participant to a one-year, $5 million deal doesn’t seem to be a daring transfer, Walker, regardless of his apparent expertise, washed out of his earlier cease in San Antonio. He was drafted 18th general within the 2018 NBA draft and spent 4 seasons with the Spurs, however by no means fairly lived as much as his full potential, regardless that the Spurs are identified for his or her developmental employees.
The truth is, after buying and selling away All-Star Dejounte Murray, the Spurs have been in determined want of scoring and playmaking, one thing that Walker can present, however as a substitute, they opted to make him an unrestricted free agent. That paved the best way for the Lakers to signal him, and to this point, that’s labored out surprisingly properly for the Lakers.
Lonnie Walker is giving the Los Angeles Lakers an offensive increase.
By means of 10 video games, Walker is averaging a career-high 15.3 factors per recreation and is the workforce’s third-leading scorer, giving them an sudden offensive increase. This comes as Russell Westbrook has seemingly accepted a bench function and is excelling in it, serving to to spice up the Lakers’ bench. In the meantime, Walker helps LeBron James and Anthony Davis within the beginning lineup.
It’s an unorthodox technique, nevertheless it’s truly working and has helped to offset Westbrook’s drop in scoring. It’s additionally made Walker considerably indispensable to the Lakers, regardless that they’re nonetheless reportedly contemplating making a commerce so as to add extra capturing and have restricted choices for gamers to make use of as salary-cap fillers. He can’t be traded with out his permission both—not that the Lakers would wish to at this level.
Walker ranks among the many greatest athletes within the NBA, and he can use that explosiveness to aggressively assault closeouts and streak out within the quick break.
He’s additionally an underrated playmaker who can create for himself and others within the pick-and-roll however tends to accept contested mid-range jumpers.
He’s doing much less of that with the Lakers, which ought to finally assist his effectivity as soon as his 3-point capturing regresses again to the imply. Walker struggled to hit from outdoors to begin the season, him and nearly each different Laker, however he’s a greater shooter than he’s proven to this point. He might not be the knockdown shooter that the Lakers want, however he’s a profession 34% 3-point shooter who’s at present hitting beneath 30%.
As soon as his pictures begin falling, Walker must be even higher offensively, and for a workforce that’s ranked final in 3-point share and final in offensive effectivity, that may be a welcome growth. He’s even made strides on the defensive finish after being frustratingly inconsistent as a member of the Spurs.
Total, the gamble the Los Angeles Lakers took by signing Walker seems to be paying off for the time being. It stays to be seen the way it will in the end play out, however the outcomes have actually been encouraging to this point.
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