John Wall will finally be freed from the clutches of the Houston Rockets after he and the team finally agreed to a contract buyout. Wall has been looking to be bought out of his massive $171 million contract that he signed in 2017-18 last season, but the Rockets didn’t want to budge and would rather have traded him.
Houston couldn’t find a trading partner for Wall with his major contract, even though it has been rumored occasionally that the Lakers were looking to swap Russell Westbrook with John Wall at the trade deadline. Wall recently accepted the final year player option on his contract to ensure he gets his $47 million and will now be able to sign for a new team.
The market for Wall will be tantalizing, with the teams that were linked to Kyrie Irving now having a new target to focus on. Wall may have played just 40 games of basketball since he signed his massive contract, but his price-to-performance improves if Wall is on a mid-level exception or veteran minimum.
Five-time NBA All-Star John Wall will secure a buyout with the Houston Rockets and become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 28, 2022
The most ideal destination for Wall would be the LA Clippers. The Clippers have a deep team with plenty of great two-way forwards. However, their issues since putting this team with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George has been the lack of a true point guard facilitating for them, something that is now possible with the Wall signing.
Another option could be the Boston Celtics. Boston, like the Clippers, has lacked a true playmaker as their point guard for a few seasons. Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving were better as scorers, but adding Wall to this NBA Finals core makes Boston dangerous.
There are other teams in the NBA that will probably make a move on Wall, but the Clippers and Celtics may be the best fits possible. We can only wait and see what Wall’s decision will be.
