In the wake of the trade for Jimmy Butler that sent Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters III and Dennis Schroder away from the team, the Golden State Warriors are in desperate need of rotation players to shore up their depleted bench.
While players such as Pat Spencer and Gui Santos have stepped in to fill out valuable minutes, it has become clear throughout the past few games that the Warriors could still do with a bona-fide scorer to compliment their bench unit.
However, there's one player, who's currently playing in Europe, that they should steer well clear of.
Lonnie Walker IV should not be an option for the Warriors
Lonnie Walker IV, who originally came into the league as a first-round pick with the San Antonio Spurs, showed promise early in his NBA career. Through 208 games with the Spurs, Walker averaged 9.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists shooting 34.3% on 3-point attempts. Primarily a sharpshooter in the mold of Buddy Hield, Walker primarily provides value through his catch-and-shoot ability.
However, once his rookie contract with the Spurs ended, Walker never managed to find his footing on another team, spending a season each with the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. While his numbers stayed steady through those two seasons, there was ultimately very little interest across the NBA in his services, and Walker went to play for Zalgiris in Lithuania.
While Warriors fans will remember Walker for the time he torched them in the fourth quarter of Game 4 in the second round of the 2022 playoffs, he is still only 26 and could potentially be looking to make an NBA return.
LONNIE WALKER IV SHINES IN GAME 4!
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2023
15 points in the 4th quarter as the @Lakers secure a 3-1 series lead! pic.twitter.com/izyQzadxG8
He has a clause in his contract with Zalgiris that would need to be triggered by Feb. 18 for him to return to the NBA this season. However, the Warriors certainly don't need another one-dimensional shooter slogging down their offense. Through 19 games in the Euroleague, Walker is shooting just 33.1% from the 3-point line: a slight decrease from his numbers in the NBA.
This is highly concerning for any NBA teams that could potentially be interested in Walker, as his 6.2 3-point attempts per game in Europe also eclipses his NBA career volume of 3.9 attempts per game.
While Jimmy Butler has helped open up the Warriors offense through his ability to drive to the rim, the Warriors should not be looking for another streaky, shooting-dependent guard to fill out their bench. As they seek a playoff berth through this final stretch of the season, they need solid defensive contributors or offensive creators to round out their rotation.