Lonnie Walker IV foresees growing into role with Nets
Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV, right, shoots as Golden State guard Klay Thompson defends during the second half in Game 4 of an NBA Western Conference semifinal on May 8 in Los Angeles. Credit: AP
LAS VEGAS — The word that best describes why Lonnie Walker IV signed with the Nets? Familiarity.
At 24 years old, he saw a roster with players close to his age. He also saw a hunger in them to prove something similar to what he felt with the Lakers last season.
Most of all, he liked the way Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges carried themselves. So it was a great match to continue his career.
“On and off the court, we have very similar outlooks on life and on the court we play very well,” Walker said at NBA Summer League. “So I think our chemistry and everything as far as growth and becoming something like a very special team is going to be something really nice.”
Walker seemed on pace for a breakout fifth season after spending four seasons with the Spurs. Despite mostly coming off the bench, he increased his scoring each year in San Antonio.
That trend was set to carry over in Los Angeles, where he started his first 32 games. But a knee injury in December kept him out a month and when he returned, he was back to being a reserve.
Still, the experience paid off being around LeBron James and Anthony Davis while reaching the Western Conference finals. Now he wants to share that knowledge with the Nets.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Walker said. “I’ve grown a lot and I'm very excited just to take that next step as far as you know, my career and playing with a lot of players that I enjoy being with.”
Johnson perhaps knows Walker as well as anyone. The two faced off in college in 2018 when Walker was at Miami and Johnson was at North Carolina.
Miami won that first meeting at North Carolina on a three-pointer at the buzzer by Ja'Quan Newton. Walker recalled it as one of the best feelings in his career and years later, Johnson had nothing but praise for Walker’s growth.
“I’ve seen the strides since his days in San Antonio, since his days in college. He continues to get better,” Johnson said. “He’s another gifted athlete. Really talented scorer. He’s had some moments in his career where he’s put it all together and he’s looked really, really high level.”
Walker had no problem returning the favor to his fellow ACC product.
“I kind of know his game, he knows my game - I think being able to play alongside him now is gonna be a blessing, though,” Walker said. “You know, he's a terrific player, he can shoot the ball really well. And I'm just another piece to add on to the team.”
In Walker, the Nets added another scorer and shot creator to take the burden off Bridges or bolster the bench. Last season, he shot a career-best 44.8% from the field and he’s both adept at getting to the rim or shooting from mid-range.
Golden State saw that in the second round of the playoffs last season when Walker’s 15-point fourth quarter pushed the Lakers to a Game 4 win and a 3-1 lead. Now the Nets hope another young, athletic wing can help push their youth movement.
All but three Nets players under contract are younger than 30 years old and both general manager Sean Marks and coach Jacque Vaughn spoke about wanting to see this group grow together.
For Walker, he doesn’t mind. Age is just one thing he's got in common with the Nets and he thinks that shared focus will make his transition smoother.
“We all have similar intentions and knowing what we want to be amongst this team, that's just to be great,” Walker said. “Every single day we're just gonna continue to try and be better than we were yesterday and just stack the days.”
Nets beat Raptors in overtime
The Nets haven't had to sweat much in Summer League play. On Thursday, they did with a 99-94 overtime win over the Raptors to stay in position for Saturday's semifinals.
Jalen Wilson had a team-high 17 points, including a put-back for the game's final basket. It's Wilson's fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures and he added seven rebounds to continue a strong Summer League showing for the Nets' second round pick.
The Nets (3-1) led by as many as 17 points but lost the lead in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Chandler, Armoni Brooks and David Duke Jr. each had 15 points. Chandler shot just 6-for-22 but had a steal and made two baskets in overtime to pull the Nets away. First-round pick Noah Clowney had six points, five rebounds and three blocks but had eight fouls, two shy of the Summer League limit.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
