The second-apron squeeze caught Lonnie Walker IV after a Boston audition that earned his coach’s praise and still cost him a job. He had not arrived expecting a favor. Six NBA seasons bought him a training-camp contract, and the defending champions asked him to earn the rest. Walker went to work. In September 2024, CelticsBlog reporter Bobby Manning described him staying late at the Auerbach Center and returning for nighttime shooting after daytime workouts. The extra shots carried a purpose beyond keeping his jumper warm.
“I’ve been looking for a home since I left San Antonio,” Walker told Manning. Boston offered a chance to find one. Coach Joe Mazzulla later praised his camp, telling reporters that Walker had learned the defensive system and studied his place in the offense. Yet on October 19, the Celtics waived him and left their fifteenth standard roster spot open. The vacancy made the decision sting. Nobody needed to clear a chair for Walker; Boston already had one. The question was whether a contender could justify the price of letting him sit in it.
A playoff scorer trying to find a home
Walker had already shown what an overlooked reserve could do with the right twelve minutes. Against Golden State in Game 4 of the 2023 playoffs, he scored 15 fourth-quarter points for the Lakers. His burst helped Los Angeles win 104–101 and take a 3–1 series lead, according to the NBA’s game recap. That night did not eliminate the Warriors. Instead, it supplied something more relevant to Boston’s later decision: evidence that a player outside the usual rotation could change a playoff game.
By autumn 2024, Walker still had to audition. ESPN reported that he averaged 7.3 points in 16.4 minutes across four preseason games with Boston. Those numbers did not demand a regular rotation role, but they gave the Celtics another scoring option. Mazzulla saw more than the points. “He had a great training camp,” the coach said, according to Boston.com’s coverage. Praise and a contract should have felt closer together. The second-apron squeeze helped pull them apart.
Boston’s two million dollar player carried an eleven million dollar decision
Keeping Walker would have cost Boston roughly $11 million in salary and additional luxury tax, according to contemporaneous reporting on the Celtics’ payroll. Hoops Rumors put the projected extra tax at about $8.8 million, alongside a $2.1 million cap charge. The estimate assumed Boston retained him without reducing salary elsewhere.
That was the price of one more option. A twisted ankle, a bad matchup or a cold shooting stretch might make Walker useful. On healthy nights, he might spend the game waiting behind guards Boston already trusted. The front office had to decide how much that insurance deserved.
For the season in question, the NBA’s official release set the 2024–25 second apron at $188.931 million. Boston already operated above it. Walker’s release did not lift the Celtics below that line; it avoided adding another expensive salary to their heavily taxed payroll. This is where the second-apron squeeze needs a precise explanation. The league did not order Boston to cut Walker. Executives could retain him on a minimum contract and accept the cost.
They chose the empty spot instead. Calling that choice sensible does not make it painless. Boston valued the savings and roster flexibility more than another reserve. Walker had controlled his preparation, his effort and his possessions, but none of those things could change the team’s tax position.
The rule changes what contenders are willing to risk
Luxury-tax charges supply the bill. The second apron takes away tools. Under the NBA–NBPA collective bargaining agreement, teams operating above the second apron cannot use the taxpayer midlevel exception. They also cannot combine outgoing salaries to acquire a more expensive player while remaining above the threshold. Sending cash in a trade becomes unavailable, too.
For a contender, those restrictions change the conversation around every additional salary. Spend heavily enough, and a disappointing roster becomes harder to fix. A general manager cannot assume that the next trade deadline will supply an escape. The second-apron squeeze therefore makes an empty roster spot tempting for reasons beyond saving money. Leaving room can help a team respond when its needs become clearer. Near the threshold, avoiding another contract can also preserve options that crossing it would remove.
That does not establish a leaguewide disappearance of the fifteenth man. Boston’s decision proves a narrower point: a championship team can prefer a vacancy to a credible reserve when his marginal cost climbs high enough. Boston had built that expensive roster through two major 2023 acquisitions. The Celtics added Kristaps Porziņģis from Washington in June, then brought in Jrue Holiday from Portland in October. Both helped deliver the 2024 championship.
Keeping that championship roster together left Boston above the second apron entering Walker’s camp. His proposed minimum contract would add another salary—and another substantial tax charge—to a team already paying heavily for its established players. The second-apron squeeze reached Walker through that imbalance. Boston had committed to the players driving its title defense. For the veteran trying to claim the final seat, even a modest contract carried a price the Celtics chose not to pay.
Experience closes the cheaper door
For a younger prospect, a strong camp can lead to a two-way contract. That route lets a team keep developing a player through its NBA and G League programs without immediately awarding a standard roster spot. The NBA G League’s official guidance allows three two-way players alongside the standard roster. Those players can join the NBA active list for up to fifty regular-season games, subject to proration for later signings. To play in the postseason, they need standard contracts.
Walker could not take that route. His six NBA seasons entering Boston’s camp put him beyond two-way eligibility, which depends on years of service rather than age alone. The second-apron squeeze leaves a veteran in an awkward position. Experience helps him recognize a coverage, settle a possession and understand what a coach wants. That same experience can disqualify him from the cheaper arrangement a team might offer an eligible newcomer.
An affiliate assignment does not guarantee a return
Walker’s Exhibit 10 contract offered another possibility. Under that arrangement, a waived player can qualify for a bonus by joining the corresponding G League affiliate and completing the required sixty days of service. The Grand Rapids Gold’s official contract explanation details that path.
But an affiliate opportunity does not reserve an NBA job. Walker could pursue G League minutes and keep making his case; Boston would still need to sign him to a standard contract before using him. Veterans can take that developmental detour. They simply cannot treat it as a two-way deal or a promise that the next good shooting night will bring them back.
The empty chair still has to survive the season
The second-apron squeeze gives contenders a reason to protect flexibility. It also asks them to gamble on what they will not need. October makes that bet look manageable. The starters have fresh legs, the rotation has a shape, and the coaching staff can imagine distributing the available minutes. January can bring a different problem: two unavailable guards and someone who must handle pressure in the fourth quarter.
Keeping a roster spot open may help a team find an answer. Retaining a player who already knows the offense may supply one faster. Neither choice guarantees that the right reserve will arrive when the season turns difficult. That is why the final camp decision deserves more than a glance at preseason scoring. A contender should know which specific problem a candidate solves. Can he create a shot when the first action fails, defend without demanding help, or steady a bench unit through three empty possessions?
Those jobs have value even when they occupy few minutes. Paying for them can still make sense, provided the team understands the full price. Boston decided Walker did not justify that price. His preparation and Mazzulla’s praise did not erase the projected tax charge, just as the savings could not erase his playoff record. Walker signed with Žalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania that October before returning to the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2025.
The second-apron squeeze lives in that unresolved tradeoff. An empty chair preserves options until the night a coach turns toward the bench and needs someone already sitting there.
READ MORE: Preseason Rotations: What First-Half Minutes Reveal About Contested Starting Roles
FAQs
Why did the Celtics waive Lonnie Walker IV?
Boston chose savings and roster flexibility over another reserve. Keeping Walker would have cost roughly $11 million in salary and additional luxury tax.
Did the second apron force Boston to cut Walker?
No. Boston could have kept him on a minimum contract, but the team chose to leave its final roster spot open.
Why couldn’t Walker sign a two-way contract?
Walker had already completed six NBA seasons. His years of service put him beyond two-way eligibility.
Can two-way players compete in the NBA playoffs?
They need standard NBA contracts to join the playoff roster. A two-way contract alone does not provide postseason eligibility.
Where did Walker sign after Boston waived him?
He signed with Žalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania in October 2024. Walker returned to the NBA with Philadelphia in February 2025.
