Coming into free agency this summer, the Los Angeles Lakers were lacking resources in order to improve their roster.
They had traded away multiple draft picks in the Anthony Davis deal while jettisoning Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, two of their better young role players, to get Russell Westbrook.
The one main tool the Lakers had to get better was their taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth approximately $6.5 million.
There were several players they were targeting with that exception, and now, Lonnie Walker IV, a 23-year-old wing, has agreed to sign with the Lakers for that exception.
Walker stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 204 pounds. He has a 6-foot-10 wingspan and is a pretty good athlete.
Lonnie Walker IV is signing a one-year, $6.5M deal with the Lakers, sources said. https://t.co/7xBnStLWfo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022
He has spent four seasons in the NBA, all of them with the San Antonio Spurs, and he averaged 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.0 minutes per game this year.
After shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in his first two seasons, he only managed to make 31.4 percent of his attempts from downtown in 2022.
