Prior to joining the Los Angeles Clippers, John Wall spent two years on the roster of the Houston Rockets. Wall made his way to Houston in the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards, but only played 40 games in Houston due to a mix of injuries and, for the entirety of the 2021-22 NBA season, an agreement that Wall would stay home while the Rockets focused on developing their young guards.
As it turns out, Wall had some gripes about his tenure in Texas. The veteran guard appeared on the “Run Your Race” podcast, where he talked about how he “worked my ass off” on a team that was trying to “lose on purpose.”
Part 1: John Wall discusses his first year w/ the Rockets, and his conversations w/ KPJ, Jalen Green, and JG Martin.
Part 2: John Wall discusses his second year, why he didn’t play, if he was willing to sit on the bench, and conversations w/ Coach Silas. pic.twitter.com/7Vm6JVRFdC
— He Is Not A Hooper. (@heisnotahooper) January 17, 2023
Wall specifically pointed out the fact that they were starting Justin Patton, a former first-round pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves who is currently playing in France, as proof they were tanking.
“This how our starting lineup was, it was like me, David Nwaba, Jae’Sean Tate, Justin Patton, somebody else,” Wall said. “Who the f*ck, can I win a game with this sh*t.”
Wall said he was being a professional and wanted to team the young players — “Don’t get used to this sh*t, it’s not how the NBA is, it’s just a bad organization right now,” he said. But still, calling out Patton this explicitly didn’t sit well with the former Creighton big man, who saw Wall’s quote going around and called him out on Twitter.
I thought we were cool @JohnWall https://t.co/ERKt1IcKkw
— Justin Patton (@JustinPatton17) January 17, 2023
Patton, the No. 16 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, suited up for the Timberwolves, Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Oklahoma City Thunder before heading abroad in 2021.
