Averaging 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 22.7 minutes per game, Lonnie Walker, who is in his fourth year of career, answered in the season's ended game. Unlike Magic and Little White, Walker did not reach an early contract extension with the Spurs before the start of the season, which means that this season will be the last year of his contract period, and he needs to use this season's game to earn himself a new contract for the offseason.
But this season Walker's performance will be a bit of a chicken rib for the team, the fourth year of his career Walker's performance on the offensive end is very dependent on his own hand in the game, often playing unpredictable game performance, sometimes can hit consecutive hits on the outside, but also break through the inside line to become the team's offensive weapon, but more often, Walker's performance on the court is not satisfactory.
Walker has only shot 39.5 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range this season, the least effective season he's had outside of his rookie season. In the games that have ended the season, Walker has made 53 appearances, but only 6 starts, and even after Xiaobai was traded, it was Vassell and not Walker who stepped into the starting position.
Lonnie Walker, who came to the final year of his contract period, is now a bit awkward in the team's position, and Dejuntai Murray, who entered the NBA two years earlier than him, has been selected as an All-Star this season, and Although Xiaobai was traded, he also renewed his contract earlier and got a good contract. Walker, far from getting the team's contract, couldn't secure his place on the team. In addition, coupled with the Spurs' consecutive selection of no. 2 and No. 3 rookies in recent years, this makes Walker's prospects at the Spurs unclear.
However, in recent games, Walker has played well. He scored 17 points in 30 minutes off the bench against the Pelicans, continuing the offensive firepower when he came off the bench for the team, scoring a game-high 21 points against the Bulls. Walker would always play a few good games when people were about to lose confidence in him, making people wonder if it was too much of a luxury to just give up on him. But from time to time, inefficient play and unnecessary mistakes on the field can make people feel that leaving him is not very useful.
For the Spurs, Walker today is a bit "tasteless and abandoned", and the Vassell and Primo selected after him overlap with Walker in position, and from the performance of this season alone, these two players will be more expected. To win the Spurs' next contract, Walker's current performance alone is not enough.
But that doesn't mean Walker's strength has been unable to adapt to the NBA, and walker has a bit of a chicken rib for the Spurs, in part because his progress has not met the team's expectations, and the younger Vassell and Primo also need more playing time. Over the past few years, spurs have picked a number of players with relatively overlapping positions, which also means that some of them will definitely leave the Spurs after their rookie contracts end.
Since last season, Walker has been able to consistently deliver 10+ points per game. In terms of his strength, he has the ability to get stable playing time in the vast majority of teams in the league. Also as a young player who has not yet finished his rookie contract, he also has enough time to continue to improve.
I still remember the summer of 18 years with my classmates to pay attention to that year's draft, after San Antonio selected Walker, I looked through his highlights with my classmates, and talked about the future of him and the team, and now that it is the fourth year of his contract, he will also usher in his own extremely important summer, and I don't know what kind of future he and the team will have at the end of this season.