IMO Walker can be a great player at this cap level if you do a number of specific things around him to maximize the value of what he brings. Basically Walker is a .5 usage adequate D PG that can completely dominate for a squad on the boards. His oreb% is 6.0 and his dreb% is 19.1, so his 25.1% creb% goes a very long way against teams with the likes of Stockton, Nash, Price et el at PG. His 2883 minutes cost just under $6.1mill, so he provides about 36mpg and in a league where it’s difficult to find 19,300 quality minutes, hence you are able to allocate more money to the other positions or your reserves because Walker’s price per minute is near bottom basement for a useful player in this league.
As the WIS FAQ tells us when it comes to rebounding: “We look at each one-on-one matchup for this situation (shooting team is still considered offense) to determine if one player has a better than average advantage over his opponent. These players will get a boost to their percentages, while their opponents will see their percentages drop.” IMO the ratio of dreb to oreb in the sim is generally in the 2.5 to 1 range. Working from that assumption regarding “better than average advantage” you can see what Walker can generate 6.5 to 8 or so rebounds in the SIm and is good for a dozen or so triple-doubles over the course of the season. His 6.0 oreb% means the opposing PG has to have a dreb% of at least 15 or an advantage over him. There are only guys that high at PG in the sim and many guys are below 10%, so Walker can bring a nice oreb advantage. His 19.1 dreb% means the opposing PG has to have at least a 7.64 oreb% for an advantage over Walker, which is even more rare in the Sim. And MANY PG’s are in the 2-3 oreb% range, so Walker can get a TON of dreb’s for a squad.
Walker brings a just below average .076 pf rate, a just adequate D rating of 61 and a below average FGA/FTA ratio. His RL tov% of 18.1% is high, but within the expected range in the sim for a PG. The tov% in the sim tends to come in below this number because his 13.6 usage rate is in the bottom tier and he rarely goes above two turnovers in the game. His ast% of 24.8% is lower than you want for a starting PG but can be addressed at the other positions. Not that A/T ratio matters much in the sim, but his is usually in the 4 to 1 range.
His shooting is a complete nightmare, and he has ZERO range. 68.7% FT% is very weak, efg of 45.5% blows, but keep in mind that as a bottom tier usage guy it’s virtually impossible that he will shoot you out of a game.
My strategy for the use of Walker is/was to put an 80+D guy at SG, draft at least three players with an ast% over 10% (currently Ho Grant and Walton), and add as many triples as possible. Part of my plan here is to maximize the usage of the 6-point usage tier Superman, Walker helps in that regard. Also I want to take a high volume high 3pt% player and generally the trade-off for that type of player is a serious lack of rebounding. As of now I plan to use the 93-94 Ho Grant and the 11-12 Faried to fill 48 mpg at SF, so when I run with Walker, SF, Walton, and Superman my SG can shoot triples all day and NEVER be needed for a rebound.
The .5 usage tier Walker also brings the issue of staying out of the team penalty. My answer for this issue is to keep at least three two-point usage tier guys at the SG,SF, and PF/C positions at all times. I may still draft a 6-point back-up for Howard, or (as I am leaning toward) take the ½ season 4-point better passing version of Walton, giving me a minimum of 10.5 usage points at all times and forcing many a possession in Howard’s direction.