John Wall traded to Houston Rockets, will be waived
John Wall has been traded to the Houston Rockets, the franchise he called “beyond trash” less than a month ago. The good news? He’ll be there for approximately four minutes, as the team is set to waive him upon acquisition.
The Los Angeles Clippers have included Wall in a three-team deal that will also send Luke Kennard to the Memphis Grizzlies and Eric Gordon, Danny Green and three second-round picks to L.A., The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports.
TNT’s Chris Haynes then broke the news that Houston plans to waive the veteran guard, allowing him to sign with the team of his choosing to close out the regular season — likely a contender.
Wall spent two years in Houston, but played just one season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes per contest, 40 games overall. He then sat out the 2021-22 season because, well, the Rockets stink out loud. And they were actively trying to lose games, something the former Kentucky guard was not a fan of.
“Trash. Beyond trash,” Wall said of his time in Houston on the Run Your Race podcast. “I’m going there thinking James (Harden) will be there once I’m traded, but he already wants out. … I haven’t played for two years, my mom passed, Achilles (injury), COVID. Don’t give a f*** who is playing with me, I just want to hoop, that’s it. Went there, worked my ass off, then we lose 20 in a row. We were trying to lose on purpose. We were starting dudes named Justin Patton.”
Wall and Houston then agreed to a buyout, leading to the former Wildcat to the Clippers this offseason. There, he has averaged 11.4 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 22.2 minutes off the bench in his 13th year in the league.
Now, he’s back on the open market, looking for a new home to close out the 2022-23 season.
During his time at Kentucky in 2009-10, Wall averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds, earning consensus First-Team All-America and SEC Player of the Year honors as a freshman.
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