Should Spurs Re-Sign Lonnie Walker IV in Free Agency?
The San Antonio Spurs will look to continue crafting their roster around Dejounte Murray, who is coming off his first All-Star appearance. As free agency approaches, identifying who should stay and who should go may be necessary.
Among the soon-to-be free agents on the Spurs is Lonnie Walker IV. He will be restricted, meaning San Antonio has the option of matching any potential offer sheet he does end up signing with a team. The question becomes a matter of whether they should.
In 70 appearances, Walker averaged 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He struggled with his scoring efficiency as he shot 40.7 percent from the floor and just 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. In his fourth season in the NBA, there are still more questions than answers about his value to a winning team.
Walker trailed only Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson among Spurs players for total possessions last season. In terms of usage rate, his 23.2 percent mark trailed only Murray. The opportunity was there, but inconsistency proved to be a challenge.
The main area where Walker's impact would be challenging for the Spurs to replace is his ability to score using ball screens. The decision to move on from Derrick White took away one of the team's top threats in this department.
Walker was highly efficient when attacking the rim using ball screens or when playing off the catch. However, he's quite limited as a pull-up shooter, and his lack of consistency in that area significantly lowers the value he can provide the Spurs' offense.
Ultimately, having Walker play a large role becomes a ceiling-limiting arrangement. He's not efficient enough with the basketball in his hands to be one of the top options for a team and isn't particularly effective as an off-ball threat either. However, he's helpful enough to keep around on a fair deal.
It's difficult to make any final decisions without seeing a few factors play out. For starters, how the free agency market ends up valuing Walker remains to be seen. All it takes is one team to present a major offer for him to accept to drive the price up.
Another factor to consider is the Spurs' recruiting efforts to attract a more potent all-around scoring threat in free agency. San Antonio has often been labeled an ideal landing spot for Zach LaVine since he would join an already solid team as their new primary scoring option.
