The Spurs have started rebuilding early this season, their main task is to train new people and obtain high draft picks, and now it seems that they are halfway done: Murray has become another All-Star of the Spurs since Aldridge. In addition to Murray, the Spurs have another windfall, that is, the three-year-old Lonnie Walker looks like he is also going to play, and the guard selected by the Spurs with the "Gundam" No. 18 in 18 finally broke out, and he showed his strength at the tail end of the rookie contract.
The scoring guard, who averaged 9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists from 41 percent of his career shooting in the last six games, scored 22.5 points in 28 minutes and shot more than 50 percent from the field. That's because he got his chances in the Deal at White, where spurs are too crowded in frontback swings, with White, Murray, Vassell, Primo, Johnson and Walker all in one position. Fortunately, at the trade deadline, the Spurs sent White away, getting Richardson, Langford and a protected first-round and a first-round swap for the Green Army.
White is certainly not in the Spurs' rebuilding plan, and his future contract averages as high as $16.5 million, but his defensive and organizational skills are just right for the playoffs, so the Spurs got a first-round pick. The deal also gave Walker more opportunities, which the Spurs probably didn't expect, as walker was likely to have been dropped in management's planning, as they picked Primo, who was the same height and position, with a lotto pick last summer. In the Spurs' plan, Primo will replace White as the mainstay of the team's forward line.
In fact, this position should have been Walker's, he was expected by Spurs fans the highest, because of his best pick and physical talent, Walker has an arm span and bounces, but from his entry into the league to now, the lack of stable offensive means, the offensive end is obsessed with long two points, the defensive defense that can best let him change the playing time is not good enough, so even if the pick is higher than the players in the same position, the Spurs have not given him too much playing time. But these have all improved in recent games, with Walker shooting 42.5 percent from three-point range and his exceptional physical fitness allowing him to hit the basket with a lethal fit, and he has the basic ability to be a good scorer.
If Walker can maintain this performance until the end of the season, then he has a good chance of getting a stable contract to stay with the Spurs, and his performance has been criticized before the middle of the season, and many Spurs fans think he will start a wandering career this summer, which is common among many NBA players. When a young player can't play a bright performance in a rookie contract, he often has to accept the veteran's base salary or short salary to run around, such as Walker's 18-year draft classmates are only 36 people left, and two of the 17 people selected before him have left the NBA.
Walker wants to enjoy the game and stay with the Spurs, which can give him more opportunities, then he has to learn from his predecessors, and now the better players in the same position are Murray and Celtic, Walker needs to be the Nuggets' Barton and the Jazz's Clarkson, the Spurs don't need him to be a good 3D player, but he needs to stand up and score when the team needs it, which is Walker's way of survival.