When the Washington Wizards selected John Wall with the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, they thought they were getting a player who could put the team on his back and become a game-changer. Wall is only three seasons into his NBA career, but that has yet to happen.
The former Kentucky Wildcat has averaged a decent 16 points and eight assists per game over his young career, but he has not made the type of impact many expected he would. Despite that, Wall still feels he deserves a max contract when he becomes a free agent after next season.
“I feel like I am,” Wall replied when Grantland’s Zach Lowe asked if he is a max contract player. “I do (feel like I am), definitely.”
While we know people like Stan Van Gundy and this NBA agent strongly disagree, it would not be wise for a player to admit they are not deserving of the most money possible. That’s a basic business strategy and there’s no actual way to define what it means to be a max contract player. However, Wall’s shooting ability can easily be analyzed by his career shooting percentage of 41.6%. Jump-shooting has been a problem, but that didn’t stop Wall from displaying confidence when Lowe asked him if the right elbow is his sweet spot.
“Everywhere is my sweet spot, but right now, the right elbow is my best elbow,” Wall said.
Now we’re getting delusional. Allow us to take a look at Wall’s shot chart for the season from NBA.com:
As you can see, he is shooting over 51% from the right elbow, which is where he likes taking most of his shots. Wall has not hit a three-pointer from a spot other than the corners, and even there he is only 2-for-4. From the left elbow, Wall is shooting a horrendous 15.79 percent. Between the free throw line and the three-point line, he has made only 8 of 43 shots.
I’m not going to sit here and blame Wall for being confident enough to think he deserves a max contract, but let’s not get carried away. Numbers don’t lie. He’s a poor shooter from almost everywhere on the floor, which is something that has kept his scoring average low throughout his career. Does he have time to improve? Plenty, but Wall shouldn’t be surprised to hear a few people chuckle at the idea of him saying “everywhere” is his sweet spot.
Chest bump to Ball Don’t Lie
