John Wall was once an NBA All-Star with the Washington Wizards. He has lost a bit of his athleticism due to injuries, but he can clearly still be a contributor on a winning team.
The Houston Rockets bought out John Wall’s contract this offseason, and he immediately joined the Los Angeles Clippers after clearing waivers. When speaking to the media recently, John Wall explained why he’s excited to join the team, claiming that he is excited to not “have to be Batman” every game for the Clippers to win games. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relayed the news.
The Clippers are expected to contend for a championship with Leonard returning after missing all of last season due to a torn ACL. Wall says he’s thrilled to be joining the most talented roster he has been a part of in his career.
“I don’t have to do it every night, I don’t have to be Batman every night for us to win,” Wall said on Saturday at the Las Vegas Summer League. “That’s the ultimate goal for me is [at] this part of my career, I don’t want to have to be the Batman every night to try to win. On our team that we have, I think anyone can be Batman.”
“I really didn’t care about all the other teams,” Wall said about teams that were interested in him before he decided to join the Clippers. “The other teams are great, and I’m glad teams wanted to come after me but I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go [where] I don’t have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those [things] and have the pressure on me. I think [the Clippers] was missing a piece of having a point guard and it’s a great situation for me to be there.”
League sources have said that Wall will compete for the starting point guard job with Reggie Jackson. Wall welcomed the competition and said he is fine with whatever role he will be asked to fill.
“For me, I’m just happy to play basketball again,” Wall said. “I’m a competitor, I know a lot of people ask me, are you mad if you start or not start — I don’t care. I’m a competitor and I just want an opportunity to go out there and compete for a spot and if I get it, I get it. And if I don’t, we know how talented Reggie Jackson is and what he’s done for this team and helping these guys out, especially when Kawhi and PG were out. Even when they were [healthy], he’s a great piece. Whoever gets the spot is great.”
On the Los Angeles Clippers, John Wall will likely be a supplementary offensive player who can focus on playmaking and defense. He gives the Clippers a true pass-first point guard, an element that they have been lacking during the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era.
There is no question that the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be contenders next season. Hopefully, John Wall can give them an edge against other Western Conference teams, and they’ll likely be a force come playoff time.
