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 creating the Celtics’ closing roster. He’s posted a number of pictures and clips to social media of himself on the follow facility.
“Clearly, my free company hasn’t gone as deliberate and whatnot,” Walker informed reporters Wednesday. “So, Brad Stevens, he’s given me a chance with the E10 to form of show myself and present my capabilities offensively, defensively, off the courtroom, [and] being an important teammate. So, I’m simply actually excited and grateful to be right here, and I’m simply going to work to the perfect 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 follow 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 trouble, the depth. That is one among my favourite coaching camps [that] I’ve been to. So, I’m actually blissful 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 “one among 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 capturing 42.3% from the sector and 38.4% from lengthy vary.
As he works to earn a everlasting spot with the reigning champs, the swingman has hopes of exhibiting 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 the intention to discover a spot within the rotation. In the event you go down the record of rotation gamers from final season’s title run, every one among them is not less than common on the defensive finish.
Joe Mazzulla on Lonnie Walker:
“He’s affected person. He understands the place he’s in… He’s requested numerous questions as a result of he needs to know it. He’s keen to do no matter he has to do to be the perfect at what we’d like.”
Walker’s professionalism actually stood out to me as we speak. 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 “one of the crucial fascinating guys” he’s ever met.
“You don’t know the place your dialog would possibly take you. He form of jogs my memory of my head coach again in highschool,” Walker revealed. “Like I stated yesterday, one among our first conversations— I like boxing, so I used to be like, ‘did you see the Canelo combat?’ 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 will probably be at coaching camp all week as they put together for his or her October 3 preseason-opener in opposition to the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi.
