6 players the Lakers should bring back at all costs next season
By Cal Durrett
Los Angeles Lakers: Lonnie Walker
Despite having missed several weeks due to injury, guard Lonnie Walker has more than proven himself worthy of a new contract with the team. Walker never quite lived up to expectations in San Antonio, despite his obvious physical gifts.
After they opted not to re-sign him, the Lakers took a chance on him and signed him to a one-year, $5 million deal. That gamble has largely paid off, with Walker averaging a career-high 14.7 points per game while also draining 38.4% of his threes and playing some of the best defense of his career.
As a result, keeping Walker could be a challenge for the Lakers since they may have only a limited amount of cap space. Additionally, since he only signed a one-year contract, they won’t have Bird rights or Early-Bird rights to use to re-sign him either.
That means that another team could outbid them and prevent them from bringing him back. Then again, he could sign another short contract with the Lakers in the hopes that continuing to play well in L.A. will eventually lead to a payday.