In the era of shooters and playmakers, the point guard has become the most important (and deeply talented) position in the game.
In Houston, the availability of one decorated veteran point guard could explode into one of the summer’s most intense free-agent pursuits.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, John Wall is in talks with Houston for a buyout of his current contract with the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat, waiting as potential suitors if he becomes a free agent.
Rumbles have finally begun to circulate about Wall resurfacing as an active player next season. This week marked the first time in some time that I heard serious murmurs about Wall successfully negotiating a buyout with the Rockets after his season on the sidelines — provided Houston remains unable to find a trade partner on a Wall deal.
It is still unclear, with Wall presumed to be essentially untradeable when he’s due $47.4 million next season, how much of that salary he would have to surrender in buyout talks to convince the Rockets to let him become a free agent. The latest Wall-related scuttle does, however, suggest that a pathway for the sides to get there is at last materializing.
Interest in Wall from the Clippers and Heat, if he can finally make his way onto the open market, has been mentioned for months. I’ve likewise been advised that the Lakers — resistant as they remain to trading Russell Westbrook to Houston for Wall by attaching draft capital as a sweetener for the Rockets — would consider Wall as a candidate for the roster if he is suddenly available via the buyout market.
After suffering several major injuries, John Wall isn’t the player he used to be, and he will probably never be again. But after posting 20.6 points per game in his latest stint with the Rockets, there is a sense that he still brings a lot to the table as a smart and versatile point guard
Wherever he lands this summer, fans are hoping he gets the chance to prove himself in a winning environment. After everything John Wall has been through over the past few years, he deserves to enjoy some success on the court.
