Oof. The past few years have not been kind to Houston Rockets guard John Wall. We are only three years and change removed from the 2017 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where John Wall seemed to all the world like the spearhead that the Washington Wizards would take to the top of the league. A driving force for the franchise not seen since the days of Wes Unseld.
And yet, they seem like a lifetime ago. In less than four years, John Wall has dealt with nagging injuries, “not feuds” with teammates, a very public offseason out of shape, and eventually a surprise trade from the organization that had promised themselves to him.
Wall now seems rejuvenated to a degree in Houston, with a new lethal co-star in Victor Oladipo, but the Houston Rockets are flailing nonetheless. His contract is largely untradeable, the jerseys are possibly the ugliest in years, and Bradley Beal is off behaving like the ex that won the breakup.
John Wall needs a reset. Houston doesn't count.
John Wall needs to find a place that legitimately wants his services. John Wall needs to find a place where he'll be actually needed, instead of inherently competing for the spotlight with a star with similar clout.
And that's all well and good, but such a place is difficult to find. The pieces have to be in place for John Wall's skills to be maximized. And more importantly, the team in mind has to be able to afford his frankly overlarge contract.
Let's do some dealing. These are the two best trade destinations for John Wall:
Trade 1 – San Antonio Spurs:
Houston Rockets receive: LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan
San Antonio Spurs receive: John Wall, Eric Gordon
And in the most lateral move in NBA history, we have, sneakily, the best trade destination for John Wall. This is going to get real spin-heavy.
If you are Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs, you have to be marveling at your success: just a year ago you were out of the playoffs, and now, you are comfortably in the bubble. And moreover, you are back to playing beautiful Spurs basketball, with a hint of motion in there.
Let's kick that beautiful basketball into overdrive.
The Spurs have already mentioned that they were ready to move on from LaMarcus Aldridge at some point this calendar year. DeMar DeRozan is similarly aged, on a bloated expiring contract, and ill-fitted to the Spurs' motion-heavy scheme.
Enter John Wall.
If you're the Houston Rockets, and you feel trapped with John Wall's contract for the next few years, your best move is to offer a team wanting to win now the chance to get rid of their own bloated contracts for a little bit of juice.
John Wall is still one of the most athletic guards in the NBA, and his vision far surpasses that of DeRozan's. Add in Eric Gordon's expert marksmanship to the lineup (once he recovers from injury), and suddenly the Spurs have the potential to be one of the most efficient offenses in the league, with plenty of space for John Wall to work without Aldridge clogging up the middle.
And though it may seem risky for the Spurs to acquire an injury-prone star with a couple of years left on his deal, Wall could be perfect for the Spurs as a high IQ floor general. With Gregg Popovich seemingly on the fence about retiring every year, providing him another star to compete instead of forcing a rebuild seems plausible.
Trade 2 – Toronto Raptors:
Houston Rockets receive: Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell
Toronto Raptors receive: John Wall, Kevin Porter Jr.
Obviously, this trade would need Kyle Lowry's buy-in to eventually be bought out. But if he is able to be brought to the table to accept a buyout from Houston he might be willing to listen. Houston still gets out from under Wall's contract early, and gets a proven veteran scorer in Norman Powell.
And in exchange, the Raptors receive John Wall whipping passes left and right to Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, tossing up lobs to Boucher, and Kevin Porter Jr. as an intriguing deal sweetener.
John Wall instantly gives the Raptors their best shot creator and playmaker since Kawhi Leonard left (Pascal's handle is still shaky, and he still makes youthful mistakes as an on-court leader). A now seemingly more mature Wall would be perfect for Nick Nurse's up-and-down offense, and a lineup of Wall, VanVleet, Anunoby, Siakam, and Boucher is scary athletic and scary period on both ends of the floor.
This gives John Wall the collective set of weapons that he never had in Washington, as well as the most supportive surrounding cast of characters. If Toronto is convinced that John Wall is willing to buy into this idea, Toronto could make a solid push as a top contender in the East once again.
This season has featured a lot of depressing storylines thus far. Stephen Curry has had trouble being a one-man-show for Golden State, LaMarcus Aldridge is on his way out, Kyle Lowry is ready to retire, and the whole saga between John Wall and the Wizards is just existentially sad.
If nothing else, these ridiculous trade ideas give off some hope that he can find happiness and triumph down the road at some point in his career. So let's hope, together. Good luck John.
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