The NBA’s salary cap increase has been a complete gamechanger on the free agent market this offseason. The opulent sums being doled out to player after player have many a non-free agent feeling undervalued. One such individual is Washington Wizards point guard John Wall.
Speaking with Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post on Tuesday, Wall dropped some candid comments on the market landscape this summer:
Wall on crazy FA market this summer: "Like, Reggie Jackson gets 5 years, 80. Like, I’m getting the same amount as Reggie Jackson right now."
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) July 14, 2015
Wall did, however, go onto to express his happiness for those free agents getting paid:
More Wall on FA market: "But I’m happy for those guys. To see anybody get the opportunity to live their dream out … that’s a blessing."
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) July 14, 2015
Jackson’s deal with the Pistons was widely criticized as one of the worst overpays of the offseason. For a guy like Wall, who signed his own five-year, $80 million extension with Washington in 2013, his perplexity is understandable.
Jackson has a reputation as a high-usage, shoot-first point guard that projects as average to below-average in four key facets of the position (three-point prowess, finishing at the rim, playmaking, and defense). Meanwhile, Wall’s blend of speed, athleticism, elite defense, pick-and-roll dominance, proficiency for creating open threes, ability to get to the rim and draw fouls, and a much-improved jumper give him a solid argument for best all-around point guard in the NBA.
In fairness, Jackson’s stats in 27 starts for Detroit last year (17.6 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and 9.2 assists per game on 43.6 percent shooting) looks awfully similar to Wall’s season-long totals for Washington (17.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 10.0 apg, 44.5 percent shooting). But Jackson’s numbers scream out small sample size, especially for a guy who had spent his entire career up until that point coming off the bench.
Still, it’s a bit surprising to see the usually reserved Wall call out a player by name like this. It could be a situation of Wall simply expressing the general displeasure of all the non-free agents this offseason, which is somewhat concerning. And it’s a problem that is only going to get worse when the TV money arrives in 2016 and sends the cap into an all-out explosion.
