How Can Lakers Avoid Losing Lonnie Walker To Free Agency Next Summer?

The better 23-year old shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV plays, the more Lakers fans bemoan the fact there’s a good chance the Lakers will lose their young star to free agency this summer like they lost Malik Monk last year. 

That Lonnie’s been far better than expected only adds to the pain. He’s now averaging 16.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 31.5 minutes per game shooting 47.7% from the field, 36.3% from deep, and 84.4% from the line. Walker smartly bet on himself and signed a 1-year contract with the Lakers that will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he will be looking to beat Monk’s 2-year $19.4 million contract with the Kings.

That’s where the problems begin because there’s a good chance the Lakers will lose Walker to as a free agent next summer just like they lost Monk last summer since the most they will be able to offer will be $7 million MLE. When your roster is short three or four legitimate rotation players, losing a young star like Monk or Walker, who’s even better, without compensation is a bitter pill to swallow, which is why the Lakers need a rethink what to do.

Last offseason, the Lakers let two valuable role players become free agents without any compensation. The Lakers lost Malik Monk to the Sacramento Kings and Alex Caruso to the Chicago Bulls receiving nothing in return. 
Next summer, the Lakers will face the potential loss of a player in Lonnie Walker IV who has a greater ceiling than Monk or Caruso. This time, they need to make sure to not let Lonnie walk for nothing as a free agent.

The Lakers have three options to avoid losing Lonnie to free agency for nothing. They can create cap space and re-sign him as free agent, trade him before the deadline, or sign-and-trade him this summer.

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1. The Cap Space Option

The Lakers have already explored a scenario where they keep Russell Westbrook for the full season and allow his $47 million contract to expire, which would then give them $35 million in cap space for free agents.

Were the Lakers to utilize this option, re-signing Lonnie Walker IV as a free agent should be at the top of the team’s list of targets for their $35 million. Walker is better than Monk and could receive offers as high as $15 million. Unfortunately, not trading Westbrook for needed size and shooting would doom the current Lakers squad to a second straight year as a lottery team, with their first round draft pick this time owed to the Pelicans in a swap. 

While there are those in the Lakers front office who believe the team should not trade their two available first round picks, it’s hard to imagine the Lakers sacrificing the season for a hope and prayer next summer.
Not with LeBron soon to turn 38 and AD playing better than Bubble AD. The Lakers essentially promised James to trade the picks to get him to sign an extension. They’re not going to break their word with LeBron James.

There’s also a scenario where the Lakers keep Westbrook but trade Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and an unprotected 2027 first round pick for an difference-making player who could give them a long shot at winning. Frankly, there’s probably little to no chance the Lakers will not trade Russ unless they’re able to convince the Pacers to trade Myles Turner, the Jazz to trade Lauri Markkanen, or the Nets trade Kyrie Irving for that package.

The Lakers would have to pull of a blockbuster one-pick trade with Beverley and Nunn in order to keep Westbrook and allow his $47 million contract to expire to create $35 million in cap space next summer.

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2. The Trade Option

Unless they get an opportunity to upgrade their roster without trading Russ and decide to go the cap space route, the Lakers should seriously consider trading Lonnie Walker IV rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.

One of the reasons the Lakers recently pushed the deadline to decide whether to trade Westbrook and their two available first round draft picks to December 15 could have been that was when they could trade Lonnie. 
Not only will free agents that signed with other teams last summer become eligible to be traded to the Lakers on December 15, but the free agents the Lakers signed this summer, including Walker, will be eligible to be traded.

Lonnie earns $6.4 million per year. He, Beverley and Nunn earn $24.6 million and could bring back player(s) earning $19 to $30 million. Adding Russ raises total to $71.6 million and could bring back $54 to $89 million. 
Financially, including Lonnie Walker IV in any trade package enables the Lakers to make a bigger trade that could bring back more legitimate rotation players, including more shooters, playmakers, and defenders.

Strategically, Lonnie Walker IV could give the Lakers a valuable stealth trading chip that could be the difference maker in getting a Westbrook trade to elevate this team to be legitimate championship contenders. 
Being able to include an exciting 23-year old two-way young star like Lonnie with his elite athleticism and 3-level scoring ability is almost like having a third first round draft pick that’s ready to play right now.

Of course, the Lakers will have to trade Lonnie to a team who will have the cap space to re-sign him but all of the teams willing to trade for Westbrook not only are looking for picks and young talent but have lots of cap space.

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3. The Sign-And-Trade Option

If the Lakers decide to keep Lonnie Walker IV or were unable to find an acceptable trade for him before the trade deadline, they should then work with Lonnie to find a trading partner willing to sign-and-trade for him.

Teams who receive players in sign-and-trades are automatically hard capped but not teams who send out players. Thus, the Lakers would not be hard capped if they sign-and-traded Lonnie Walker IV next summer.
Since Lonnie should be a coveted prospect and his agent is Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the Lakers should be able to find a team willing to trade a good player or players for a budding young star with upside like Lonnie.

A sign-and-trade would prevent the Lakers from losing Lonnie Walker IV to free agency for nothing and bring back a valuable player or players who earn around $15 million per year or whatever amount Lonnie signed for. 
While the Lakers likely opted not to let Monk and Caruso go for nothing to cut their luxury tax bill, they need to get a return for Walker, who has great value in a sign-and-trade because of his age, performance, and upside.

The reason unrestricted free agents like Lonnie Walker IV should look for teams willing to sign-and-trade for him is it expands the number of teams beyond just those who have $15 million in cap space to sign free agents. 
For players like Walker, who want to play for a contender, their best path to being traded to a championship contender is often done via sign-and-trade as the top teams rarely have significant cap space because of superstars.

If the Lakers do not trade Lonnie Walker IV before the trade deadline or re-sign him as a free agent next summer, then they need to sign-and-trade him to a team to avoid losing him to free agency without compensation.