Houston Rockets guard John Wall has expressed interest in returning to play for the team, and it doesn't look like a bad idea at all considering the team's status.
The Rockets and Wall had come to an agreement before the season that the veteran guard would not play in regular season games as the team looked to find him a new home. Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, however, both sides will engage in a dialogue on Sunday about possibly re-integrating him to the roster.
Wall and Rockets had agreed on him sitting out until a trade could be found, but the five-time All-Star guard talked to Houston general manager Rafael Stone on Friday about restarting a dialogue on a return to the active roster, sources said. Sides plan to talk again on Sunday. https://t.co/OY9pZS7XFS
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 27, 2021
Wall has two years and $91 million remaining on his contract, so it's understandable that the market is pretty frosty on him right now. It's not that he's not a capable starting point guard in the NBA, but trading for a deal like that requires matching significant salary and forgoing future cap flexibility. Normally someone in Wall's situation chooses to play out his contract or pursues a buyout with the team. However, Rockets GM Rafael Stone balked at the idea of a contract buyout on Media Day and the reporting suggests that nothing has changed. This isn't a surprise as a buyout would require Houston to pay most of the contract money up-front and Wall to take a haircut on the deal in order to secure his freedom.
Since neither of those things seem like a possibility, returning to the team to re-establish trade value isn't the worst idea for Wall's camp. If he were to return to the team, it would have to be in a role that's complimentary towards Houston's rebuilding efforts. When healthy, guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green have started all season for the Rockets , so coach Stephen Silas would have to find a way to re-integrate Wall with that in mind.
It also makes a lot of sense for Houston to welcome Wall back in with open arms.
The Rockets are the worst offensive team in basketball right now and have struggled to get any sort of structure going on that end of the floor. While he's not as talented as someone like Chris Paul, Wall is your prototypical floor general. He knows how to run an offense and put players in position to succeed. Despite how excited the organization is about Porter Jr.'s future, he's not ready to be a conductor like this right now. The Rockets have lacked good point guard play all year and it's gotten to the point where it's obvious backup big man Alperen Sengun is the best passer on the team.
Of course, it'll also take a lot of work on Wall's part. He can't come in and take a million pull-up jumpers to try to prove he's still an All-Star. All the Rockets would ask of him is to carry his off-court leadership onto the floor. This would not only help Houston from a basketball standpoint, it helps Wall prove to the other 29 teams that he can still be a helpful contributor. Assuming he can do that, his return could be a win-win situation for both parties.
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