The Houston Rockets are in the midst of a rebuilding effort with Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun as key stars. They moved on from Christian Wood earlier in the NBA offseason by trading him to the Dallas Mavericks. Eric Gordon and John Wall will likely be next.
Wall was sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season despite being completely healthy. The Rockets favored playing their younger talents in order to maximize their outlook for the 2022 NBA Draft. It paid off as they landed the No. 3 overall pick, which ended up being used to select Jabari Smith Jr.
After exercising his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, Wall’s contract remains borderline impossible to trade without parting with assets to do it. A buyout will be required in order for both sides to move on from one another.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Houston Rockets Star John Wall Predicted To End Up With LA Clippers
According to Marc Stein, it still remains unclear how much salary he would need to give back to the Rockets in the event he were to reach a buyout agreement. However, there is a pathway to reaching an agreement to finally put an end to the situation.
It is still unclear, with Wall presumed to be essentially untradeable when he’s due $47.4 million next season, how much of that salary he would have to surrender in buyout talks to convince the Rockets to let him become a free agent. The latest Wall-related scuttle does, however, suggest that a pathway for the sides to get there is at last materializing.
Among the potential suitors for Wall if he were to reach a buyout agreement with the Rockets include the LA Clippers and Miami Heat. To a lesser extent, the Los Angeles Lakers could also be a potential landing spot amid Russell Westbrook’s uncertain future.
Interest in Wall from the Clippers and Heat, if he can finally make his way onto the open market, has been mentioned for months. I’ve likewise been advised that the Lakers — resistant as they remain to trading Russell Westbrook to Houston for Wall by attaching draft capital as a sweetener for the Rockets — would consider Wall as a candidate for the roster if he is suddenly available via the buyout market.
While Wall is undoubtedly being highly compensated to not play, it’s unfortunate how the situation has played since he signed his supermax contract extension with the Washington Wizards. He’s played in just 40 games since the start of the 2019-20 season.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Houston Rockets Star John Wall Predicted To End Up With LA Clippers
John Wall is set to turn 32 before the start of the 2022-23 season. He will be well-rested for his next team whether it’s the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, or a different franchise. As for the Houston Rockets, they likely aren’t going to be major buyers in free agency, so there isn’t much reason to be too stubborn in buyout talks.
