Credit where it's due: Daryl Morey always crushes moves on the margins.
The Philadelphia 76ers' president never takes his foot off the gas pedal. Even with the Sixers 14 games below .500 and rapidly falling out of contention, Morey is always on the hunt for positive value. He appears to have found it in Lonnie Walker IV, who inked a two-year, $3 million contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Lonnie Walker IV has agreed to a two-year, $3 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent George S. Langberg of GSL Sports Group told ESPN. Walker has played for Zalgiris Kaunas in the Euroleague and had an NBA-out in his deal. He now enters his 7th NBA season. pic.twitter.com/NQW8xQa1mS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 18, 2025
Walker spent preseason with the Boston Celtics before joining Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania. Across 19 Euroleague games, Walker averaged 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on .387/.331/.857 splits, never straying far from NBA radars. A return to the league was inevitable; it was a matter of finding the right team.
Philadelphia won't benefit much from Walker this season — at least not in the win column, which feels futile at this point — but he could emerge as a key rotation cog next season, when the Sixers are hypothetically meant to contend again. Just last season, Walker was averaging almost 10 points in 17.4 minutes per game for Brooklyn, shooting 38.4 percent on a healthy volume of 3s.
The Sixers' supporting cast now features a nice collection of floor-spacers and complementary scorers to orbit around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Here's how the rotation shapes up with Walker in the mix.
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Projected Philadelphia 76ers lineup and rotation after signing Lonnie Walker IV
PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyrese Maxey | Quentin Grimes | Paul George | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Joel Embiid |
Kyle Lowry | Eric Gordon | Justin Edwards | Guerschon Yabusele | Andre Drummond |
Jared Butler | Lonnie Walker IV | Ricky Council IV | Adem Bona |
Walker will need to earn his minutes from Nick Nurse. If there's one area the Sixers aren't presently suffering, it's the wing rotation. Paul George still demands 30-plus minutes when he's healthy. Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes have been showing out since the trade deadline. Grimes feels like a long-term start, assuming Philadelphia re-signs him next summer. Justin Edwards, meanwhile, has just been promoted to full-time roster spot. He started nine straight games until last Wednesday's loss to the Nets.
Don't be shocked if the Sixers quickly incorporate Walker into the rotation, though, especially without much else to lose this season. Walker can catch fire in a hurry from 3-point range and he's a true standout athlete, all of 6-foot-4 with a cavernous 6-foot-10 wingspan.
The Sixers can't count on Walker for much defensively, but his length affords some positional versatility and the occasional flash play. On the other end, he's a bonafide shot-maker who can attack closeouts and create his own looks from time to time. He has never been a prolific passer, but Walker should thrive as a play-finisher next to Embiid, Maxey, and Philadelphia's other offensive fulcrums.
Again, none of this feels especially relevant to this season, as the Sixers aren't even pretending to tread water at this point. It's cooked. They're done, dead, finished. With hopes of returning to the contenders circle in 2025-26, though, Philadelphia can hope for positive signs from the 26-year-old Walker. The expectations will shift dramatically as soon as prep for next season begins. Walker ought to be prepared for that.