Five-time NBA All-Star John Wall still clearly wants to play in the league, but it now appears unlikely to occur in the 2021-22 season after Thursday’s trade deadline passed without a deal.
Though there was hope of a potential last-minute deal with the Lakers for Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles apparently did not budge on its refusal to include a future first-round draft pick to incentivize the Rockets. Without that, it simply made more sense for Houston to stick with the status quo, since they already had a non-playing agreement with Wall and Westbrook has shown no inclination to accept sitting out.
Just before training camp in September, the Rockets struck that agreement with Wall as part of a plan to give more backcourt usage to young guards like Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, and Josh Christopher. Since they have the worst record in the Western Conference, there is no reason to change at this time from that developmental emphasis.
Though the unofficial “buyout season“ in the NBA runs through the end of February, since March 1 is the deadline for waived players to be playoff eligible with a new team, reports have continually suggested that neither Wall nor the Rockets is interested in a buyout this season. With two seasons left on the contract, the remaining dollar figure is simply too large for the sides to reach an agreement now.
Moreover, from the team’s perspective, more rival teams might want to trade for Wall in the offseason — when only one year is left on the contract. Even if that does not occur, the financial figure guiding the buyout negotiation terms would also appear to be less daunting.
Nonetheless, from the perspective of an accomplished 31-year-old competitor, sitting out while healthy is a bitter pill to swallow — even if he’s getting paid. In a since-deleted Instagram story post close to Thursday’s trade deadline, Wall wrote:
Crazy, just wanna play ball. All a part of God’s plan!
The post finished with an emoji of praying hands. While you can never say never in the NBA, all clues to this point suggest that Wall’s prayer to play may not be answered until the 2022 offseason.
John Wall’s recent post on Instagram. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/5jV6UXMS1t
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) February 10, 2022
