First, Lonnie Walker IV was signed on a one-year veteran minimum, according to Shams Charania. Later, that news was refuted and changed to Walker having signed a training camp-only offer, with a chance to try out for the team, by Denver Nuggets beat reporter Bennett Durando. So which is it? Could it be both? It doesn't exactly have to get into tin-foil hat range, and perhaps it's just a simple misinterpretation. But what does it mean?
Lonnie Walker IV has agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Denver Nuggets, agent George S. Langberg of @GSLSportsGroup told ESPN. Walker was with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague after last playing in the NBA in 2024-25 and now enters his 8th season in the league. pic.twitter.com/tvxQc2RRjz
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 6, 2026
Lonnie Walker IV's agreement with the Nuggets is a training camp deal, league sources tell @DenverPost. He will compete for a roster spot at camp this fall. Denver still has two open spots.
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) August 6, 2026
It really doesn't make much sense for Walker to give up a paying gig overseas unless he either wants to get back into the NBA badly enough that he is willing to take a chance on himself. Or was he told there would be changes made to the roster for salary shedding purposes and a spot would eventually open up?
Clearly, Shams' source was pretty solid, as the information came from Walker's agent. Was there a slip of the tongue by his agent about the Nuggets' plans?
The Nuggets are obviously looking to shed some salary
As the Nuggets are the only team over the NBA's second apron tax penalty threshold, they are clearly looking to get back under that level to avoid the roster construction penalties as well as the exorbitant tax penalties. One of the easiest ways to do that would be to trade Zeke Nnaji. But that could prove to be very difficult to do without having to give up either draft capital or attaching him to a Peyton Watson sign-and-trade.
And it's not a surprise that the Nuggets are looking to get back under the second apron. Even the NBA Champion New York Knicks are treating the second apron as a hard cap because of the roster-building penalties associated with it.
Either way, the Nuggets would shed salary for the upcoming year and need someone to fill that roster spot. The forward-heavy roster would also become more balanced by losing either Watson or Nnaji. And perhaps the Nuggets would consider using Julian Strawther as an adaptable wing to play small forward with Walker alongside him at the two-guard off the bench.
Is Walker just the backup plan?
Or is Walker a backup plan to include Strawther in any deal, since he is extension-eligible and the Nuggets may not want to extend him? Is Walker the backup plan for small-wing depth who can score if the Nuggets trade Watson for only draft capital?
Both options are certainly plausible. I really don't think Shams gave out the wrong information from the agent. It's just a cloudy mess of a situation at the moment without some clarity, and we're just left to postulate the grey area at the moment. But the tin-foil hat in me wants to say something else is in the works. Otherwise, Walker took a huge bet on himself to try out for the Nuggets.
Add us as a preferred source on Google