Wizards news: John Wall won’t play ‘until he’s 100 percent ready’

Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks said All-Star point guard John Wall won't play until he's 100 percent healed from a torn Achilles.

Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks acknowledges point guard John Wall is chomping at the bit to get back on the floor.

But Brooks also insisted that Wall–who has not played in an NBA game since suffering a serious Achilles injury in December of 2018–will not take the floor “until he's 100 percent ready,” per Fred Katz of The Athletic:

More Brooks on Wall: "That guy is as competitive as I’ve seen an NBA player be, and it was taken away from him. Think about it. It’s 40 games. Last year, 50 games. This year, 41 so far — maybe 82. That’s not easy.”

The rest of this is good stuff from Brooks: pic.twitter.com/XhWHQvVwES

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 19, 2020

Wall participated in 4-on-4 work with Wizards teammates on Sunday, an encouraging step as he continues to make his way back from a torn Achilles.

But even as Wall progresses, the Wizards continue to suggest they will be extremely cautious with respect to his status, making him extremely unlikely to play this season. General manager Tommy Sheppard insisted Washington will not “skip steps” in the process (via Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports Washington):

When you see videos of him, it's hard to see why Wall is so far away from a return to the floor. However, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard talked to Chris Miller before the Wizards' loss to the Jazz Sunday to update us on his progress and what the organization's mindset is regarding the five-time All-Star's return.

“We're not going to skip steps, we're not going to get excited about 3-on-3,” Sheppard said. “Down the road, I think we'll start to add more players to the court and make it feel more like home, but we're not in a rush to see John come back unless he's 100 percent healthy.”

The Wizards fell to 13-28 after losing to the Toronto Raptors on Friday, and they are still five games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

With Wall under contract through (at least) 2022, it is entirely possible he does not take the floor for Washington this season as the franchise looks to take a long-term approach.