Pop hides Lonnie in corners when he is off ball and tells him not to rotate. Somehow he still loses his man. Happened in 2 play in game already , so you know that is hopeless.
I actually think the reason Pop pulled him/limited his minutes in the play-in game after-going 5-9 and 2-4 from 3 was because he knew anytime Walker produces like he is due for a 1-7 stretch lol. CIA Pop.
I’ll be very happy to see him go.
Pop hides Lonnie in corners when he is off ball and tells him not to rotate. Somehow he still loses his man. Happened in 2 play in game already , so you know that is hopeless.
I see Walker out the door due to failure to meet expectations and I see Primo in a few years being the same. Vassel is the keeper.
Do we know whether Lonnie can be aggregated with another Spur player in a S&T? Or would he have to go out alone like DDR last summer?
Good question. Doubt he could be aggregated but couldn’t find anything on google.
It's best for Lonnie to leave for his own sake. Regardless, I could see him asking to be released from his QO very quickly in the off season process when they don't get a salary number that they like or, you know, we draft another guard.
I don't see there being room for Lonnie unless he is wiling to give a big "hometown" discount.
He is a good guy and a tremendous talent who can sometimes be instant offense.
Unfortunately the basketball IQ has always been noticeably lacking on both offense and defense.
I wish him well regardless of what happens.
le reminded me of
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
i like keeping Primo, Richardson, and McBuckets. Lonnie is just likeable but dumb and poor defense. Can't keep a guy like that, despite the other assets.
If Lonnie were to leave, where would you want him to go?
I know I don't want him with any of the main west contenders, nor the Lakers and Clippers. I feel he would do really well with a team like Atlanta or Orlando. I could also see him having some success with the Knicks.
If he becomes a FA, he should try to go to Denver, PHX, GS, Atl, or Miami.
If Lonnie leaves, it will be really interesting to see if Pop and the Spurs system was just holding him back...or keeping him afloat. If he ends up on a team like Orlando, I could easily see him going the way of Jonathon Simmons (and that's obviously not a compliment). We all ranted and raved about Simmons' athleticism and scoring off the bench too...and just a few short years later, he is out of the league.
My gut reaction: it's time to part ways. Lonnie's had several chances to prove himself and separate from the pack. Murray did, White did when he was healthy (and I would've preferred to keep him), but how many years have we been talking about Walker needing to figure it out?
We have Primo now, and Richardson managed to make an immediate impact while barely understanding the system while Walker continued with his Jekyll and Hyde ways. Especially since he can't even bring value on the defensive end, I'm tired of wondering which Lonnie we are going to see on any given night (or even any given quarter).
Last edited by Dex; 04-18-2022 at 04:25 PM.
He does give off a Simmons vibe, doesn't he? I forget to mention Memphis, but they are too well coached and won't put up with his stupid play. I still feel Atl or NY are the two best options for him.
As one of the few remaining members of Lonnie Island, I'll be sad to see him go, and I don't think it's an if but a when. I don't see him re-signing here again, especially after his post-play-in comments/likes. Just not the fit, even less so with Primo eating into his role and minutes, and obviously poised for a bigger role next season.
I'll keep up with him and root for him wherever he goes, because he's a very likeable player, but it's definitely not a major blow to SA if he walks out. It's sad that the Spurs have had a recent string of players who "could've, should've" developed in key areas, and just never did - but it happens to every team that's not actively contending and has to cycle through young talent. Lonnie won't be the first nor last potential-filled player to never reach the heights his highlights suggest he could.
I'll say though, I'd still like to keep him for around $5m/per. Before the season I gave an optimistic $10m/per figure, and have adjusted accordingly. He's still a good bench player, "knows" the system, provides microwave scoring and slashing, and can be put in the doghound if he's missing . Perfect player for Pop to rip into on the bench, tbh.
I think an underrated detriment to Lonnie's stock/return, is the steady play of Tre Jones as the backup PG too.
That's a pretty small backcourt in today's NBA, (Approx: Tre 6'1", Lonnie 6'4") and when combined with his defensive awareness deficiencies, the fit isn't ideal.
Ya pretty much this. 5mill would be ideal but he going to be too expensive. Other teams will overpay.
Lonnie is and will be more of outside threat than Simmons ever was. Lonnies mid range game Jonathon simmons could only dream off. .
Dont think its a stretch for me to say carve out a longer career... barring injury such as chronic back probs than Simmons.
He will not get more then his QO. If the Spurs offer it no team would be willing to offer more then it. If the spurs do not offer it then he will not get even get the QO. If he gets 3-4 mil per year then he should take it.
I said on the day we drafted Primo that the pick was a warning shot to both DJ and Lonnie. DJ responded well and had a career year. Of course that’s not bc of Primo but rather bc DJ has that hungry desire to improve while Lonnie stayed exactly the same player that he has always been.
Everything Lonnie does well, Primo either does just as well or shows flashes of being able to do at a much cheaper price. You don’t sign inconsistent role players. You sign role players who know how to play, know themselves as players, and who will be ready to contribute. Lonnie is a role player and he mentally isn’t at the stage to know wtf to do on the court. Maybe in 3 years he will figure it out but it won’t be here.
That being said, I blame Pop’s coaching and player development for Lonnie being the show he has become. You can’t one size fits all players and expect them to succeed. We did Lonnie dirty in his development and I’ve made no qualms otherwise
It has nothing to do with bad coaching. Lonnie has a mental flaw: low processor speed. He constantly catches the ball, and freezes for about half a second to see what's going on around him. Might as well be an hour. It also has nothing to do with, and cannot be affected by coaching. Your processor speed is what it is.
Walker issue was he feels sorry for himself because he is black
Did not celebrate 4 of July posted a tweet like that said it was slavery
Agent made him delete it
Blame walker
No one feels sorry you are an idiot. NOBODY.
I agree with all his flaws. That’s definitely one of them. But it can’t be understated how badly we ed up his development. Lonnie maybe wouldn’t amount to much even with good development. Who knows? But I do know that we didn’t do right by him in that one regard.
Pop had high hopes for him and pushed him hard, especially early on to play better defense, that's my guess. I guess Pop was hoping for a star and was completely on him like he did with Tony, which makes sense under that narrow lens. But what we got was obviously not a star and barely a player for the vast majority of his time here. It seems his role is a short-leash bench player who comes in microwave style. The problem is that by riding him so hard early on he never developed any confidence to be that, and obviously we didn't know yet what his best role would be, but here we are now. In the last few months I guess you could say he's settled into that role, but there's been so much awkwardness to get there, I don't see how he wants to stick around. He'll do it if we are his best chance to make the most money, but the whole situation feels very awkward and I'll be surprised if he is back next year.
Would love to keep him because he is so exciting to watch ... but I doubt we can fit him in salary wise for what he efficiently brings to the table
https://www.expressnews.com/sports/s...r-17091408.php
Only four teams other than the Spurs project to have room under the salary cap this summer — Detroit, Orlando, Indiana and Portland.
“I believe that I’m a starter,” said Walker, who has started 56 games in the NBA. “But if I’m a sixth man or coming off the bench, I’m fine with that.
“I’ve embraced San Antonio,” Walker said. “The community has embraced me as much as possible. I love it here. We’ll see where it takes me.”
Honestly, I’m not the biggest Lonnie advocate but I also realize no one wants to come to San Antonio so might as well re-sign him. 4 years 40 million is not terrible and that would be the most he’d get. The Spurs have signed bigger turds to a contract like that. Drafting and Player development NOT free agency are the only components the Spurs have to get back to the play offs. It is what it is. Now if we hit the magic ping pong ball and land Ivey then let Lonnie walk but otherwise he likes it here and he won’t break the bank. Enough of the pipe dreams if you think free agents are coming here you’re being a Cowboys fan. Unrealistic.
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