The NBA trade deadline is officially over and the teams around the league are making the final touches to their roster before embarking on the final stretch of the regular season before the playoffs. With that in mind, the Lakers signed Alex Len in free agency to bolster their frontcourt rotation.
While the Lakers don't have any more roster spots to fill, they could create one by releasing a player like they did with Christian Wood. However, there are plenty of teams with open roster spots that will likely fill them before the playoffs.
One of the players who was expected to draw significant interest for those roster spots was former Lakers shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV. The talented scorer had an NBA buyout clause in his contract with the Euroleague team Žalgiris Kaunas. NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Tuesday, however, that Walker will be finishing out the season in Europe.
Lonnie Walker IV will finish this season with Lithuania's BC Žalgiris, according to his agent George S. Langberg of GSL Sports Group.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2025
Walker, 26, plans to return to the NBA next season. He had an NBA buyout in his EuroLeague deal through Feb. 18.
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NBA News: Lonnie Walker IV Not Coming to the NBA This Season
This is a surprising development. Walker had already taken the basketball world by surprise when he signed with Žalgiris to begin with. He was in the playoff rotation for the Lakers, who made the conference finals in 2023.
The guard then had a nice season with the Brooklyn Nets last season. The fact that he wasn't able to get a minimum contract in the NBA for his age-26 season was certainly surprising.
Now that his buyout deadline has reportedly passed, Walker will try to lead Žalgiris to Euroleague glory. Despite playing very well and averaging 13.6 points in 22 minutes per game there, his team is currently 12-14 and out of the playoff picture.
Whether Walker will be able to land an NBA contract for next season remains to be seen but fans will have to wait a little longer to see the former Laker back in the league.
Update: After the publication of this story, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Philadelphia 76ers were signing Lonnie Walker to a two-year, $3 million deal.