Houston has a plethora of young guards on its roster for next season, which makes veteran point guard John Wall unlikely to return to action for the Rockets next season. Now I know that I am not telling most Rockets fans something they had not already prepared for, especially with Wall being held out of the entire 2021-22 NBA season.
Houston tried to make a move before the trade deadline to find Wall a new place to play, but potential deals fell through. A new team could acquire the five-time former All-Star from the Rockets this offseason.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently alluded to the Los Angeles Clippers being interested in Wall, who averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game in the 40 games he played in two seasons ago.
The Clippers’ current issue at the point guard position is they have no true backup for Reggie Jackson, who is under contract for one more season. If Wall is traded to Los Angeles, it will be interesting to see if he would buy into coming off the bench, something he was not interested in doing for Houston. Moreover, if the Clippers are unable to pull off a Wall trade due to the difficulty of matching salaries and choose to wait on a potential contract buyout, it’s possible that Wall could subsequently choose a destination with a more clear path to starting minutes.
Wall, 31, has a player option for the 2022-23 season at $47.4 million. If he is not traded and ultimately can agree to a buyout with the Rockets, he would immediately become an unrestricted free agent and could sign with any NBA team. Reportedly, Wall’s goal is to resolve his situation with Houston before the start of free agency in early July.
