7. Lonnie Walker, unrestricted
Lonnie Walker had quite the up-and-down season with the Los Angeles Lakers this past year. He went from being a rotation player, a part-time starter even, to falling out of the rotation, and then playing a key role for the team in the NBA Playoffs. Then again, I suppose that’s kind of been the Lonnie Walker experience through the first few years of his career. And that lack of consistency is a big reason why he finds himself in free agency once again.
Walker is coming off a season in which he averaged 12 points on 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. Despite all that, he could still be viewed as a worthy roll of the dice considering his raw talent and the fact that he’s still just 24 years old.
The recent additions of Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and the expected return of Austin Reaves could complicate things for Walker, but you’d have to think that if the Lakers could bring him back at a relatively cheap price, he will be back. I think the Lakers are perfectly fine with patiently waiting his process out a bit. Without a huge market surrounding Walker at this point in free agency, there’s nothing wrong with the Lakers waiting this out.