There is much value in playing abroad for NBA players. It doesn’t necessarily make players’ games better, but it surely can help their careers. Just look at Danny Green. He didn’t play particularly well with Union Olimpija, shooting 38.7 percent from the field and generally recording mild box-score numbers. But he learned that life in the NBA is tenuous. For the non-stars who don’t have anything guaranteed, when you lose your spot with the franchise that drafted you, it’s hard to find another spot in the NBA. Life abroad can teach people they have to fight for that other spot. Teach them that buckets aren’t enough. That consistency and professionalism can buy your way back to the league.
“I had to learn that I’m not that special,” Green said in 2015. “I may be talented, but I’m not the most talented in the world. And some of the most talented players don’t even make it. I had to have a higher IQ and outwork everyone, or I wasn’t going to make it back.”
It’s unknown whether Lonnie Walker IV learned anything from his time with Zalgiris Kaunas. It’s unknown whether he needed to learn anything.
But the facts are that Sky Walker has always had the talent to have a 15-year career in the NBA. He has bounced in and out of a few franchises, playing for three teams in three seasons since leaving the San Antonio Spurs, who drafted him.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a team option for Walker for next season. He played the latter half of the season in Philly, and he played fairly well. But with the team already employing a cavalcade of shooting guards who fit the team’s timeline and represent far larger team investments — Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, Quentin Grimes, Pick Number Three (Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe) — it’s easy to see the Sixers moving on. Their loss could be Toronto’s gain.
Like Green more than a decade before him, Walker underperformed abroad before he signed in Philadelphia. They both, as a matter of fact, shot 38.7 percent from the field. Walker’s box score stats over his 19 games in EuroLeague were admittedly putrid. But his game didn’t need much honing. If anything — and this is pure speculation — it may have instead been his mentals that needed sharpening.
It would behoove the Raptors to discover whether that’s happened.
Walker has never failed to put up numbers in the NBA. With career averages of 10 points a game in only 20 minutes, Walker is the exact type of sparkplug wing that good teams need off the bench. He’s physical and athletic. I wrote waaaaaaaaaay back in 2022 that the Raptors should swing for Walker as a second-draft candidate. That obviously never happened. (But Toronto has taken some of my advice over the years, both good and bad, including shooting for Immanuel Quickley, Jalen McDaniels, and others.)
Perhaps it’s time for Walker now. Though he’s had seven years in the league, he’s only 26 years old. He’s not going to be a star, and he ought to know that — and play like it — now that he’s back to the NBA. He’s going to be a small-role veteran who attacks the rim off the bounce, launches from deep, and generally adds juice to a (relatively) sugar-free offence. He’s a solid shooter from deep, if not great.
Most importantly, since his second year in the league, he has always shot 49 percent or better on drives while driving at least 4.0 times a game. No Raptor hit those thresholds last year — small-role, second-side, efficient paint touches are meaningful and relatively rare. He has a tight dribble when attacking closeouts, and he can burst through digs and hurl himself at rim protection, take contact, and still finish.
Despite Walker’s athleticism, he has generally been a below-average frequency shot-taker at the rim. He has also been relatively inefficient at the rim as well. Part of that has been mentality. He has long been in love with mid-range pull-ups. (Green, too, was trending towards mid-rangers in his brief time in the league before bouncing abroad.) It’s unlikely that Walker changes so dramatically after spending so long in the NBA. But these things do happen for players who see life outside the league. He was good in Philly last season. There is room for him to be better on a team that could use his abilities even more.
Perhaps time abroad could have convinced Walker that he needs to change his game. If his usage dropped to between 15 and 20 percent, he could be a supercharged Ochai Agbaji in Toronto’s rotation. An efficient shooter with even more additive abilities off the bounce. Despite Agbaji’s efficiency from the field last year, the offence was worse with him on the court last season. It’s easy to see Walker battling Agbaji for his rotation spot. He could greatly complement lineups with both Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, offering finishing punch to what they create.
And it would be a no-risk move. If the Sixers do waive Walker, he would likely be available for a minimum contract. Perhaps the Raptors would need to guarantee it fully — I imagine a camp invite on a non-guaranteed deal would not convince the veteran to come to Toronto. But using a roster spot on a minimum deal for a player like Walker is just good business when a team is trying to win games but seriously lacks juice off the dribble.
Your next read: The Raptors are shooting for the moon next season
