NBA
Lonnie Walker opts for Lithuania over Real Madrid
The 25-year-old guard was a free agent after being waived by the Celtics. He had been linked with Real Madrid but will end up in Kaunas to play for Zalgiris.
Lonnie Walker is leaving his NBA career behind and is heading towards a new destination - Europe, but not where many fingers have been pointing over the past few weeks.
The 25-year-old point guard, born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, was linked with Real Madrid just a week and a half before his arrival in the Euroleague environment was confirmed by Shams Charania and Bobby Marks, to Lithuanian side Zalgiris Kaunas, who were looking for a replacement for Tyrone Wallace. Little under a fortnight ago, Wallace abruptly announced that he was leaving the club after just three months.
ESPN’s two reporters also add, through the player’s agent (George S. Langberg), an important detail: the deal includes a NBA buyout clause which means that Walker will have an an escape route back to the US - that clause is valid up until February 18, 2025, just when the transfer market starts to heat up.
No room in Boston for Walker
The player was looking for a new team after completing the preseason with the Celtics, the reigning champions. Boston have made minimal changes to the roster that won the Ring last June. Some of the cuts made to the official rosters during the season serve to take another path, that of the development league, but that has not been the case with Lonnie. JD Davison and Drew Peterson are two examples of players who went on tour with Boston after the presentation camp, were later cut from the roster and are now working on another promotion with the Maine Red Claws. After seeing that and with no other offers of value, Walker decided to try his luck in Europe.
The point guard will team up with Frenchman Sylvain Francisco, who has stood out at the start of the season connecting well with the team, and locals Lukas Lekavicius and Deividas Sirvydis. The latter does have experience in the United States: he spent two seasons with the Detroit Pistons and one more between the Pacers and Bucks affiliates.
During his last season, with the Brooklyn Nets, Walker made a total of 58 regular season appearances, posting an average of 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game - way below what he was averaging in the three previous seasons with the Spurs and the Lakers.