John Wall – Houston Rockets
At the start of the 2021-22 season, the Houston Rockets and John Wall mutually agreed to work together to find a new home for the 5x All-Star. However, it does not appear to be a simple search for Wall and the Rockets, as there is very little interest in him around the league.
John Wall made his first appearance since the 2018-19 season last year in Houston and he played quite well, averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 1.1 steals and shooting 40.4% from the floor in 40 total games. This was a welcoming sight for the veteran point guard, but many teams around the league are not interested in him because of his contract.
Making $44.3M this season and then $47.4M next season, assuming he opts into his player option for the 2022-23 season, almost no teams in the league have the ability to absorb his contract and at 31-years-old coming off multiple serious injuries, Wall is definitely not worth this kind of money anymore.
On The Crossover NBA Show with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix and Howard Beck, Mannix talked about Wall’s interest league-wide and how there is not much of a market for him. “To this point, I’ve been told there has been zero traction on a trade for John Wall, so he’s just hanging out,” Mannix said briefly.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving’s Plans For Nets Could Be Impacted By NYC Mayor
Talks between the veteran guard and the Rockets management continue to be ongoing and the two sides are seeing eye-to-eye on everything, but there are just no advancements at this time on any potential future for John Wall this season.
It is possible that closer to the trade deadline, teams could inquire about Wall and what the Rockets would want for him, but again, it seems unlikely that a team will be wanting to acquire a $40M+ contract in-season.
Being traded in the offseason seems like the only logical way John Wall will be able to get another chance to play in this league, but his most likely path to getting another shot is to opt out of his $47M player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.
Sacrificing $40M+ is something almost nobody would ever think about doing, but if Wall wants to play in this league again, this may be the only way he can achieve said goal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving’s Plans For Nets Could Be Impacted By NYC Mayor
John Wall is not going to be traded this season and quite honestly, it is going to be hard for him to prove himself again on anything other than a veteran’s minimum contract moving forward.
Verdict: Will remain in Houston for 2021-22 season
