As the Los Angeles Clippers look to take some inspiration from the Golden State Warriors to go from missing the playoffs to NBA champions, they have added a potentially big piece to their championship puzzle. After the Rockets failed to find a trade partner for John Wall, they secured a buyout with the former All-Star and reports indicate he is set to sign with the Clippers.
Wall, a 5-time All-Star, sat out the entirety of the 2021-22 season with the Rockets and he now goes from a rebuilding team to a contender. He also gets to play with Paul George, of whom he is a big admirer, having previously tried to recruit him to the Wizards in 2017. George also reacted on Instagram when the news broke of Wall’s decision.
Paul George weighs in on John Wall intending to sign with the Clippers (as reported by @wojespn) via Instagram: pic.twitter.com/asjKF0MjUq
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 28, 2022
He shared a picture of the two of them dancing together during All-Star weekend and they’ll be hoping for even more celebrations once they share the court as teammates. We can’t be sure how great Wall can be at this point in his career, but he did average 20.6 points to go with 6.9 assists in the 2020-21 season. While expecting him to score 20 points a game might be a bit too much, those assist numbers will almost surely go up.
Wall’s career average of 9.1 assists per game is bettered by only two active players, Chris Paul (9.5) and Trae Young (also 9.1). He gives them a massive playmaking upgrade from the point guard slot over Reggie Jackson, which will help Paul George and the returning Kawhi Leonard to flourish as scorers. It was the absence of Leonard, who missed the whole of last season due to injury that led to the Clippers missing out on the playoffs and his return along with the addition of Wall makes them one of the biggest contenders for the title from the Western Conference.
