John Wall did not play at all for the Houston Rockets this year, and he clearly is not in their future plans. The five-time All-Star is expected to land with a new team in the near future, and one Western Conference team has been mentioned as a potential suitor.
Zack Buckley of Bleacher Report recently predicted that the Los Angeles Clippers will try to acquire Wall this summer. The Clippers are coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs, and one of their obvious needs is point guard.
Wall has a $47.4 million player option for 2022-23 that he is all but certain to exercise. Given his age (31) and injury history, that is a massive sum. After Wall opts in, the Rockets will then try to trade him or — more likely — reach a buyout agreement.
If Wall is bought out, he will become an unrestricted free agent. There is at least one other team that might have interest.
Wall averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists in 40 games with Houston two seasons ago. The Clippers did not have a true backup point guard behind Reggie Jackson this season, instead relying on wings like Terance Mann and Norman Powell or even big men like Isaiah Hartenstein to run the offense for the second unit. If healthy, Wall could fill that role for them.
