John Wall trade speculation ain’t what it used to be.
Years ago, when the former Wizards point guard was playing at an All-Star level and earned an All-NBA nod during the 2016-17 season, Wall’s availability would’ve made major headlines across the league. Trade machines would’ve been flooded with amateur GMs trying to figure out how to get the five-time All-Star on their favorite team while the fans and the media would’ve loved dissecting the dynamics of why Wall and Washington wanted a divorce.
Now it feels like the most appropriate response to the idea of Wall, with Houston of course, being traded to a second team in as many seasons—as was reported Tuesday by our pal over at The Athletic, Shams Charania—is a yawn.
That’s what happens when your star has diminished because you haven’t been healthy in years—Wall’s played in more than 41 games once since the 2016-17 campaign, missing a huge chunk of time thanks to knee and Achilles injuries. Plus he just happens to have the most burdensome contract in the NBA that’s going to be absurdly difficult to move.
After spending last season balling for the woeful Rockets who won’t be contending for several seasons to come, it appears the organization no longer requires the services of the extremely expensive point guard. Not when it has a backcourt full of exciting young talent like No. 2 pick in this summer’s draft Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. who need all the minutes they can get.
Reportedly, Houston and Wall are in agreement that it would be best if the Rockets can find a trade partner and ship him somewhere else, preferably you’d imagine, to a contending team. The Rockets and Wall are apparently cool with him sticking around the team and waiting for the right trade to develop—he just won’t play in any games. So don’t expect any of the shenanigans we saw from James Harden last year when he tried every trick in the book to get the hell outta Houston.
But making a sensible trade—hell, any trade—featuring Wall is going to take a herculean effort because of the astronomical money he’s owed. If it happens—and not necessarily when it happens—the trade will be way more complicated than most fans and even keen NBA observers can reasonably fathom.
