Wednesday marked the primary day for the 2024 Boston Celtics coaching camp. It didn’t, nevertheless, mark the primary day of on-court work for Lonnie Walker IV, who Boston signed to an Exhibit 10 contract (coaching camp deal) final month.
Since signing the dotted line, Walker has spent loads of time sharpening his expertise on the Auerbach Middle in hopes of constructing the Celtics’ last roster. He’s posted a number of photographs and clips to social media of himself on the apply facility.
“Clearly, my free company hasn’t gone as deliberate and whatnot,” Walker advised reporters Wednesday. “So, Brad Stevens, he’s given me a possibility with the E10 to sort of show myself and present my capabilities offensively, defensively, off the court docket, [and] being a terrific teammate. So, I’m simply actually excited and grateful to be right here, and I’m simply going to work to the most effective of my capabilities.”
He added that he’s open to spending a while with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G-League affiliate, which Stevens had talked about to him as a chance.
The 25-year-old’s first official apply with the staff made an impression on him immediately.
“It was a transparent viewpoint as to why you guys are the 2024 world champions,” Walker defined. “The competitiveness, the hassle, the depth. That is certainly one of my favourite coaching camps [that] I’ve been to. So, I’m actually glad to be right here and simply be round such nice expertise.”
Whereas it’s solely simply begun, Lonnie Walker IV calls the Celtics’ coaching camp “certainly one of my favourite coaching camps I’ve been to.” pic.twitter.com/hkaThvaSiw
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) September 25, 2024
Walker joins the Cs after showing in 58 video games with the Brooklyn Nets final season, the place he performed a median of 17.4 minutes per outing. He averaged 9.7 factors, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists whereas taking pictures 42.3% from the sphere and 38.4% from lengthy vary.
As he works to earn a everlasting spot with the reigning champs, the swingman has hopes of displaying his prowess on the defensive facet of the ball. The way in which Boston’s staff operates, he’s going to have to take action with a purpose to discover a spot within the rotation. When you go down the checklist of rotation gamers from final season’s title run, every certainly one of them is a minimum of common on the defensive finish.
Joe Mazzulla on Lonnie Walker:
“He’s affected person. He understands the place he’s in… He’s requested a number of questions as a result of he needs to grasp it. He’s keen to do no matter he has to do to be the most effective at what we’d like.”
Walker’s professionalism actually stood out to me immediately. pic.twitter.com/VzhXP83KwB
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) September 25, 2024
For now, he’s loved attending to know head coach Joe Mazzulla, who he calls “some of the fascinating guys” he’s ever met.
“You don’t know the place your dialog may take you. He sort of jogs my memory of my head coach again in highschool,” Walker revealed. “Like I mentioned yesterday, certainly one of our first conversations— I like boxing, so I used to be like, ‘did you see the Canelo struggle?’ He was like, ‘I don’t watch pillow fights.’ I used to be like, ‘Okay. Alright. There we’re. That makes extra full sense.’”
Walker and the remainder of the Cs might be at coaching camp all week as they put together for his or her October 3 preseason-opener towards the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi.
