Free John Wall? Play John Wall?
The Houston Rockets and point guard John Wall previously agreed, publicly, to work together on finding a new place for him to play and that he wouldn’t play for the team this season, outKick previously reported.
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Wall has not played a minute for the Rockets this season, but a trade has yet to happen.
Houston Rockets’ John Wall (1) drives on Toronto Raptors’ Fred VanVleet (23) during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Houston. (Bob Levey/Pool Photo via AP)
Wall is set to make $91.7 million over the next two seasons, and the Big Lead reports his contract that makes the former All-Star virtually immovable.
Wall was chosen with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards after playing one year of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
The five-time NBA All-Star, who was named to the All-NBA Team in 2017, was traded to Houston in 2020.
In the 2020-21 regular season, Wall averaged 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game, according to StatMuse. He shot 31.7% from beyond the arc and made 40.4% of his field-goal attempts.
But without Wall, the Rockets’ season has become a disaster — Houston currently holds the league’s worst record (1–16), its worst point differential (-11.2) and are on pace to finish 5–77, which would be the worst mark in NBA history, the Big Lead reports.
Dallas Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (11) defends against a shot by Houston Rockets guard John Wall (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
It was thought that the Rockets and Wall were at an understanding that the Rockets had no desire to be good this season so they came to an understanding that Wall would be patient until a team became desperate enough to trade for his contract, or he got so tired of it all that he’d give some money back to Houston to facilitate a buyout.
But after the Rockets lost their 15th straight game Monday night in Boston, Wall took to Twitter to express that had no say in the matter by clarifying he didn’t dress — but did travel — with the team to Boston.
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Shortly after the Rockets (1-16) lost 108-90 to the Celtics (10-8), Wall retweeted that he’s getting punished for something he can’t control.
Could the NBA step in and do something about this if Wall keeps voicing his displeasure? The league has done a lot to discourage outright tanking since The Process days, the Big Lead reports.
It will be interesting to keep following this and see what happens next.