John Wall – Houston Rockets
Entering the 2020-21 season, John Wall had played in just 73 games since the start of the 2017-18 season due to numerous injuries. Coming off of a major left heel and Achilles injury that kept him out the entire 2019-20 season, the Washington Wizards traded Wall to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook.
Seeing as he had not stepped out on a court in nearly two years, John Wall actually played quite well for the Rockets last season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and shooting 40.4% from the floor, but he played in just 40 games due to rest and a hamstring injury.
Now, entering next season, John Wall really does face the need for a “bounce-back” year because he needs to prove he can still play close to a full season. Given his injury history, playing 55-60 games would definitely be eye-opening for Wall, but overall, he just needs to be able to stay on the court and produce.
The veteran guard has always been known to be one of the more athletic and fast point guards in the league, giving him an advantage to score over slower, weaker defenders. John Wall is owed $44.3M this upcoming season, as well as $47.4M during the 2022-23 season, so trading him is virtually impossible for the Rockets to do, but if he fails to produce he will finish his current contract and then likely be out of the league.
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The soon-to-be 31-year-old point guard needs to be able to prove that he can still facilitate and score at a high-level on the Rockets early on in the season, otherwise he will be benched in favor of the Rockets young talents, which may happen anyways. A “bounce-back” year would be great for John Wall, that way he can prove to the rest of the league that he is still an x-factor.
