Despite being traded from the Washington Wizards two years ago, John Wall is open to returning to the franchise he played his first nine years in the league with.
For ten seasons, Wall was the face of the Wizards franchise. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 draft and helped to put the team on the map during a tenure that included five appearances in the All-Star game and four straight trips to the playoffs.
Yet, for as much as he’s remembered for his outstanding play as the team’s biggest star, injuries were a constant hurdle for all involved. Between 2017 and 2019, he played a combined 73 games in Washington before he missed the entire 2019-2020 season due to a torn Achilles and eventual infection.
A John Wall-Washington Wizards reunion is very possible
In December of 2020, the Wizards moved their former franchise star to the Houston Rockets in a trade for another star guard in Russell Westbrook. In the season and a half since Wall has only played 40 games for the Rockets. At this year’s trade deadline, he was part of conversations to again be swapped once for Westbrook. This time going to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, those talks eventually fell through.
- John Wall stats (career averages): 19.1 PPG, 4.3 REB, 9.1 AST
However, despite the schism between him and management at the end of his run in Washington, The Athletic’s NBA Insider David Aldrige reported on Wednesday that the 31-year-old is not against a return to his former team.
“If it can plausibly be argued that the Lakers would benefit by getting Wall from Houston for Russell Westbrook, a potential trade rumored to have been discussed before the trade deadline, why wouldn’t the Wizards also improve by re-emigrating their former five-time All-Star?,” Aldrige explained. “Wall would welcome a return to the team that took him with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. It’s something he recently discussed with people close to him and around the league. ‘That … is true,’ one NBA source said Tuesday.”
Bradley Beal is not against a Wall return to DC either
Adding to the real possibility of a Wall-Wizards reunion is the added intel that current franchise superstar Bradley Beal is not against his former teammate coming back and rekindling the pairing they had for six seasons.
“I’m told Beal, though not overtly advocating a Wall return, wouldn’t dismiss a potential reunion out of hand. Washington’s ability to unload Dāvis Bertāns’ salary to Dallas buoyed his faith in the Wizards front office’s ability to make impactful trades, including the one that brought Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to D.C. for Westbrook,” says Aldridge. “Now, though, team president Tommy Sheppard is on the clock to add a floor general who could complement Beal, Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis.”
Wall has not returned to the floor for the Rockets this season, and while he has been working out in anticipation of an eventual comeback, he is not expected to suit up for the team before the 2021-2022 season comes to a close.
The Rockets return on the NBA games today schedule to play the Los Angles Lakers at home.