{"id":104628,"date":"2024-11-02T15:20:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T19:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=104628"},"modified":"2024-11-02T15:20:59","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T19:20:59","slug":"bucks-strong-interest-signing-euroleague-lonnie-walker-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/02\/bucks-strong-interest-signing-euroleague-lonnie-walker-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucks \u2018Expressed Strong Interest\u2019 In Signing EuroLeague Guard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks have started the 2024-25 season 1-4 and there isn\u2019t a singular reason why<\/a>. However, there could be a relatively simple fix for at least one of their early issues. Ranked 20th in bench points per game, Milwaukee needs a spark plug in their second unit.<\/p>\n

Bucks \u2018Expressed Strong Interest\u2019 In Signing EuroLeague Guard Lonnie Walker IV<\/h2>\n

In the NBA\u2019s vast free agent pool, Zalgiris Kaunas guard Lonnie Walker IV<\/a>\u00a0has emerged as one potential option for the Bucks. According to Donatas Urbanas of BasketNews, Milwaukee \u201cexpressed strong interest<\/a>\u201d in Walker before he made the jump to the EuroLeague. The six-year NBA veteran was trying to earn a roster spot with the Boston Celtics in training camp this season, but wound up being a budget cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalker had long been on the radar of European teams, and recent interest from Real Madrid sparked overseas conversations again.<\/p>\n

But when Madrid’s option first appeared, Walker was not keen on moving to Europe, viewing himself as an NBA player. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks also expressed strong interest, though it didn’t lead to a roster spot.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Walker has posted 11.2 points per game over the past four seasons. This season, that scoring average would be tied for fourth on the Bucks \u2014 with two-time Sixth Man of the Year finalist Bobby Portis<\/a>. In what\u2019s a particularly stark contrast, Milwaukee\u2019s backup wings \u2014Pat Connaughton<\/a> and A.J. Green<\/a>\u00a0\u2014only average 4.6 and 3.4 points per game, respectively.<\/p>\n

What Are The Bucks Waiting For?<\/h3>\n

Suffice it to say, the Bucks\u2019 wing corps would better off with Walker, who\u2019ll have an NBA buyout clause until Feb. 18.<\/p>\n

Because of their high tax bill, Milwaukee may hesitate to sign Walker for the same reason as Boston. However, the Bucks\u2019 lack of cohesion and deficiencies at both ends gives them a lower margin of error than the Celtics. Furthermore, Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> sounds like the latest franchise star prepared to force a trade<\/a>. Even if it\u2019s a typical media overreaction, it\u2019s not a chance Milwaukee should take.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Milwaukee has less to risk and more to lose by not adding an affordable talent like Walker. Concerns about the development of young players (i.e. MarJon Beauchamp<\/a>) under Doc Rivers only compound the problem. If the Bucks won\u2019t put trust in their youth<\/a> or sign anyone, their only other option might be getting a team to work with them on trade.<\/p>\n

While Milwaukee decides, Walker will have \u201ca vital role\u201d with Zalgiris, where he\u2019s projected to be a go-to player. The EuroLeague\u2019s level of competition is generally lower than the NBA\u2019s. Nonetheless, it\u2019s a solid opportunity for Walker to showcase the full breadth of his skills. Playing at a high level there will only increase the chances of him signing an NBA contract sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks have started the 2024-25 season 1-4 and there isn\u2019t a singular reason why. However, there could be a relatively simple fix for at least one of their early issues. Ranked 20th in bench points per game, Milwaukee needs a spark plug in their second unit. Bucks \u2018Expressed Strong Interest\u2019 In Signing EuroLeague […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":104712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1608,62,3],"tags":[1721,4652,297],"class_list":["post-104628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bucks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-euroleague","tag-lonnie-walker-iv","tag-nba-free-agency"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}