John Wall May Finally Get to Play

John Wall and the Rockets came to an agreement and he may finally return to the hardwood.

Last season did not go as John Wall planned.

In the summer of 2021, Wall was hopeful that he would be healthy enough to play the majority of games in the 21-22 NBA season.

He played really well in the 20-21 season, especially for someone for didn’t play at all the previous campaign due to injury and recovery. He also put in his work in the offseason to get better and stronger.

But when the start of the season came around, the Houston Rockets’ brass asked him not to play because they were working out some trade options. 

A month went by and no trades were found. So, Wall insisted that they let him play and the team agreed. 

But Wall wanted a starting position. And the team didn’t want him to start because they wanted to give their young guys minutes for, ya know, development and such.

So, Wall and the Rockets agreed that he would sit out until he was traded.

Via Sports Illustrated:

"Wall spoke to Rockets officials and stated his desire is to play, have a starting role and compete to maintain it, but the franchise informed him that they want him to come off the bench, and not start," [Shams] Charania wrote Sunday. 

"The outcome of the conversations is that Wall will continue to sit out games while remaining professional and being around and engaged with the team."

Well, he wasn’t traded. He sat out the entire season and didn’t dress once. Wall just spent the entire time working on his game and fitness.

But now that the season is over, things may be looking up for him.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Wall opted into his $47.4 million player option and agreed to a buyout with the Rockets. 

And according to Adrian Wojnarowski, he plans on joining the Los Angeles Clippers once waivers are cleared.

What Can John Wall Do For the Clippers?

There may be some of you who are wondering what Wall can offer at this stage of his career. I mean, the last time he played close to a full season was in 2018-19 when the world was normal.

I, however, think he will fit right in with the Clippers.

Here’s why -the Clippers need a playmaker. This has been one of their weak points for a couple of seasons.

They have really good scorers in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but no one to run plays and quarterback for the two superstars.

(Reggie Jackson’s name may have popped into your mind right now. He played well last season for the team. But he is a score-first guard who only averaged 4.8 assists.)

This has caused them to run too many ISOs, which (I think) got predictable.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps shared the same opinion back in 2021:

“This game is also another example of the same thing that was a problem for the Clippers in the playoffs: they don't have a point guard to get this team into an offense. Leads to a lot of standing around – which, in turn, is a lot easier to guard, and leads to stagnant play.”

Wall can remedy this flaw. 

He is a pass-first point guard who averaged 7 assists per game in his most recent season. And for his career thus far, he is averaging 9.1 assists per game.

Additionally, Wall is also a defensive guard, which will suit the Clippers’ system. In his sole season with the Rockets, he averaged 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.

Oh, and I didn’t even mention that he can score like the best of them. With the Rockets, he averaged 20.6 points per game.

Final Thoughts

John Wall is a great player.

He’s a 5-time NBA All-Star, an All-NBA player, and an All-Defensive player.

His skills are what the Clippers need and his personality should fit with the team’s current stars.

However, this is all speculation right now. Nothing has been confirmed yet. 

But with how often these rumours have turned out to be factual throughout history, I believe this will come to fruition.

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