Report: Sixers among the ‘potential suitors’ for Lonnie Walker IV originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers are reportedly among the possible NBA destinations for Lonnie Walker IV.
Marc Stein reported Sunday that Walker’s “potential suitors” are “said to include the Sixers, Wolves, Heat, Nuggets and Celtics.”
Walker is currently playing for Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas. In 16 total appearances this season, he’s averaged 13.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists. According to Stein, the 26-year-old shooting guard “can be bought out of his Žalgiris contract … by any NBA team until Feb. 18.”
With about five weeks until the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Sixers have one open roster spot. They had success in the summer with a signing outside of the NBA, inking Guerschon Yabusele to a one-year, minimum-salary deal that’s been a major bargain.
Walker joined the Celtics on an Exhibit 10 contract late this offseason but didn’t stick with Boston. The 18th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft has 322 games of NBA experience, the last of which was the Nets’ regular-season finale loss last year to the Sixers.
Over 58 games with Brooklyn last season, Walker averaged 17.4 minutes and posted 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. He shot 38.4 percent from three-point range on 4.7 attempts per game.
A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Walker has shown he’s an NBA-level athlete and scorer who doesn’t turn the ball over much. Those would presumably be the main qualities of interest for a team like the Sixers, who haven’t received much offensive production from their second-unit veterans (Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Kyle Lowry) and have standout rookie Jared McCain out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on his left lateral meniscus tear.
