John Wall has career decision to make this offseason

The trajectory of John Wall’s career has nosedived over the last few seasons. He was named an All-Star four times in his first seven seasons and was coming off a career year in 2016-2017 with career-high averages of 23.1 points and 10.7 assists. Wall was easily considered one of the best point guards in the league during the 2010s.

Over the last four years though, that has no longer been the case.

Injuries suffered to his lower legs, specifically his heel and his Achilles, were the beginning of his decline. Wall has played in just 113 games over the last four seasons, including missing all of the 2019-2020 season. For reference, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Vince Carter all retired between 2019 and 2020 and have all played as many or more games than Wall since 2017-2018. 

Wall was able to play in 40 games for Houston last season. The Rockets shut him down to end that season and mutually agreed with Wall that he wouldn’t play this year. His endless inactive status has those around the league wondering when or if we’ll see Wall again?

So much of the question surrounding Wall is his current contract. After his career season, the Wizards signed Wall to a max contract for $171 million over four years. His injuries have since made that one of the worst deals in recent NBA history. Heading into the summer, Wall must decide whether or not to opt into the final year of that deal.

He will be $47 million richer if he opts in, but it’s likely he’ll remain out of the Rockets lineup. It will also mean other teams won’t have interest in him or simply can’t afford to trade for him. Only teams with massive contracts to match or lots of cap space to absorb his deal could take him on. That was the case earlier this season when no teams made a move for Wall at the trade deadline.

If Wall declines his option, he likely won’t receive an offer worth a fraction of what his option is worth. With that said, it could mean a faster return to the court he’s desperate to play on. It would also mean a chance to play for a contender with full freedom to choose his next team.

The only other option would be if Wall and the Rockets could agree on a buyout this summer. Wall could get a portion of his money and find a new home while the Rockets could get off of paying him the full amount. It would be beneficial for both but neither side could agree on one over the last year.

Wall was on pace to be one of the staples of the point guard position in the NBA just four seasons ago. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened and it’s now up to Wall to decide what’s most important to him. There are avenues for him to get back on the floor for next season, but it would mean sacrificing a significant chunk of change. 

Only time will tell but, if he finds more value in the money, we might still be waiting to see Wall play again come this time next year.