Five-time All-Star John Wall and the Houston Rockets are on their way to a split.
Both sides have agreed to work in tandem to find a trade partner and give the 31-year old a new home.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Tim McMahon first reported the news.
For both sides, the easy part is to agree to mutually split and find a suitable destination.
However, finding a willing partner to take on Wall’s massive contract is a different story.
Wall currently has $91.7 million remaining on his contract, with $44.3 million due next season, and he also has a player option for 2022-23 that will kick up to $47.4 million.
He would be foolish not to exercise that option, which he most likely will do.
That price tag is high for a guard who spends a lot of time injured and only shot 40.4 percent from the field last season.
Right now, the Rockets are committed to the development of 19-year old Jalen Green and 21-year old Kevin Porter Jr. as their starting backcourt going forward.
Should Wall be traded this offseason, it will mark the third offseason in a row that the Rockets have shipped out an All-Star veteran point guard.
In 2019 they traded away Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook, only to see that experiment end in the second round of the playoffs.
Following the 2020 playoffs, Westbrook requested a trade and saw himself exchanged for John Wall.
That same year saw James Harden traded to Brooklyn, signaling Houston’s shift from contender to rebuild.
Wall returned last season after missing almost two full seasons with bone spurs and an Achilles injury.
He averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 40 games.
Wall started in all 40 games he played in.
Along with his aforementioned 40.4 percent shooting average from the field, he also shot 31.7 percent from beyond the arc, only adding to the difficulty that will be trading him away,
However, John Wall did show he still has something left in the tank and can be valuable to a contender or a team looking for veteran leadership.
His scoring and playmaking ability are still enough, but it will be tough to ship him out of H-town.
