{"id":48832,"date":"2022-11-22T11:13:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=48832"},"modified":"2022-11-22T11:15:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:15:05","slug":"lonnie-walker-iv-the-lakers-best-offseason-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2022\/11\/22\/lonnie-walker-iv-the-lakers-best-offseason-signing\/","title":{"rendered":"Lonnie Walker IV: The Lakers\u2019 Best Offseason Signing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the offseason rolled around, many Lakers<\/a> fans expected the team to go after big names despite limited cap space.\u00a0 They were looking forward to welcoming an established role-player to the purple and gold via the Mid-Level Exception.\u00a0 So it was quite a shocker when Shams tweeted this an hour into free agency:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Free agent Lonnie Walker IV has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic<\/a> @Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From there, the reactions (and analytics) came to light. Most believed that signing <\/span>Lonnie Walker IV<\/b><\/a> was a terrible move by the Lakers, signing a young player who would clog the paint and could not shoot nor defend.\u00a0 Fast forward nearly two months into the regular season, and those same nay-sayers are eating their words right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lonnie Walker IV: The Lakers\u2019 Best Offseason Signing?<\/h2>\n

In 13 games so far, Walker has averaged a career-best 16.4 points, along with 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 47% from the field, nearly 35% from three, and 83.3% from the free-throw line.\u00a0 He has arguably served as the Lakers\u2019 fourth-best player behind the trio of <\/span>LeBron James<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/b><\/a>, and <\/span>Russell Westbrook<\/b><\/a>, and has fit like a glove in Darvin Ham\u2019s system.<\/span><\/p>\n

What has made Walker IV a success story in LA so far, and how could this partnership continue?<\/span><\/p>\n

Offensive Breakdown<\/h3>\n

The first thing that sticks out about Walker is his finishing.\u00a0 He has been known for his explosive dunks and acrobatic finishes in San Antonio. Those traits have only continued and blossomed in LA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s prowess in the paint has been a key factor in his high-scoring performances.\u00a0 He <\/span>dropped a season-high 28 points<\/span><\/a> on 9-17 shooting in a 120-117 win over the Pelicans on November 2nd.\u00a0 His ability to drive creates wondrous opportunities for playmakers of James\u2019s and Westbrook\u2019s calibers, and he can finish plays with ease that leave the crowd stunned.\u00a0 The Lakers even made a compilation of his most athletic plays, and needless to say, <\/span>they do not disappoint.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Walker’s aggressiveness has been another key factor, one that was encouraged by Westbrook.<\/p>\n

\n

Lonnie Walker IV:<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a midrange pull up and I passed it and Russ cursed me out… \u2018Yo, you don\u2019t do that. I pass the ball you shoot okay? Stop passing the ball\u2019. I was like dang, okay. That was something that made me want to be more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

(via @LakersSBN<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/SWn23ifrva<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Walker IV has also been able to thrive as a playmaker, racking up three or more assists in four of his 13 games played.\u00a0 He has an assist percentage of 9.1 this season and constantly searched for opportunities to make his teammates better, a valuable skill for a team that relies on LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as primary playmakers.\u00a0 Walker has made a sizable dent in the offense through his dime-dropping, making it clear to opposing players that he is more than a scorer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three-Point Shooting<\/b><\/h3>\n

A key and underrated aspect of Walker\u2019s game has been his three-point shooting.\u00a0 He came into the year with an abundance of confidence in his perimeter shot, even daring defenders to leave him open and \u201cwatch what happens.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s been able to back up that talk multiple times.<\/span><\/p>\n

In that 28-point performance, he buried five of nine threes.\u00a0 He also <\/span>drained four of five triples against the Nets<\/span><\/a> on November 13, leaving the win with 25 points.\u00a0 He left fans with some gold in a postgame interview, <\/span>saying<\/span><\/a>, \u201cMy jumpshot is too beautiful for me not to be hitting threes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker has been a perfect fit in Ham\u2019s system, posting an individual offensive rating of 111.\u00a0 In a lineup with James, Davis, <\/span>Patrick Beverley<\/b><\/a>, and <\/span>Troy Brown Jr.<\/b><\/a>, the five-man group posted an offensive rating of 114.8.\u00a0 When grouped alongside Davis, Brown Jr., Beverley, and <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/b><\/a>, that group boasted a rating of 127.\u00a0 Walker has worked with every lineup he has been placed with, a dream scenario for any head coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Walker has shut up his critics offensively, he has also done so on the defensive end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defensive Breakdown<\/h3>\n

In his introductory press conference, Walker told reporters, \u201cI\u2019m here to play defense.\u201d It signaled an immediate buy-in to Ham\u2019s defense-first philosophy.\u00a0 He has only averaged 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game this year, but don\u2019t let those numbers fool you.\u00a0 He\u2019s been very active on the perimeter and is able to stay in front of most of his matchups. This is a key reason why he has been able to collect steals that ignite LA\u2019s signature fast-breaks, as seen in this clip here:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/atg_mvp\/status\/1588740587951337472<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Walker has also been valuable as a decent shot-blocking guard.\u00a0 He has recorded a block in six of the 13 games he\u2019s played so far, critical for a team that ranks 19th in blocks per game (4.9) and does not have a ton of rim protection outside of Davis and James.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is clear that Walker is heavily engaged on the defensive side of the ball, adding onto what he showed in San Antonio.\u00a0 Having a young guard like him locked in there has translated well to his offensive execution, and it\u2019s been a welcome sight for the Lakers and their fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outlook<\/h3>\n

Look for Lonnie Walker IV to remain an essential part of the Lakers as the season goes on.\u00a0 He has undoubtedly earned his starting spot, and his contributions on both sides of the ball have not gone unnoticed.\u00a0 The Lakers probably received a steal in free agency. Rest assured, this won\u2019t be the last you\u2019ll hear of the \u201cSky Walker.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the offseason rolled around, many Lakers fans expected the team to go after big names despite limited cap space.\u00a0 They were looking forward to welcoming an established role-player to the purple and gold via the Mid-Level Exception.\u00a0 So it was quite a shocker when Shams tweeted this an hour into free agency: Free agent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":48836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_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":[26,1608,62],"tags":[240,38,4652,53],"class_list":["post-48832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-anthony-davis","tag-lebron-james","tag-lonnie-walker-iv","tag-russell-westbrook"],"modified_by":"Kunning Chen, Department Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48832","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\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}