Displaced Lakers Swingman Heads East, Signs One-Year Deal With Brooklyn Nets

Lonnie Walker had his moments last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and it appeared he would be staying in Hollywood for a long time.

Unfortunately, a knee injury and the sudden changes in the roster displaced the 18th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.

With the Los Angeles Lakers re-signing D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves plus the arrival of Gabe Vincent, Walker's chances of getting re-signed became dimmer.

However, he will get a new lease on life helping another NBA team with reports that the former Miami Hurricane has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton in a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the 6-foot-4 cager agreed to a one-year deal.

However, the financial package was not mentioned in the report.

It will be interesting if Walker can weave the same magic he had in the early goings of the 2022-23 NBA season with the Lakers.

The Pennsylvania native averaged nearly 15 points and shot 38.4% from beyond the arc in 32 games for the Purple and Gold last season.

Unfortunately, Walker suffered a knee injury in December and this kept him sidelined for about a month.

The Lakers changed it up at the trade deadline in February and the arrival of new faces simply told heavily on Walker, eating up his minutes.

Walker was temporarily overlooked at that point although he was given chances. The most memorable of his stints at that time was during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.

Beyond that, however, Walker slowly faded and the chances of him returning did as well.

With the Brooklyn Nets, a team that is retooling after the exit of top stars such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the former top pick of the San Antonio Spurs is expected to get new opportunities.

The Nets will need his offensive firepower, especially with the team looking for new stars to set up.

Walker holds career averages of 9.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 264 games.

His best year was his last season with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2021-22 wars where he normed 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

Walker will try to blend in with other players in the mix such as Spencer Dinwiddie, Ben Simmons and Cam Johnson among others.