The John Wall era in Houston appears to be racing towards its conclusion. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Wall and the Rockets are in the midst of working together on finding him a new team, as the team is in the midst of a rebuild and the veteran guard would like to seek greener pastures.
Charania reports that there is no buyout option on the table — Wall has two years remaining on his contract and just a tick under $92 million headed his way — while the two sides have met to discuss how things could work moving forward, with Wall reporting to training camp but not playing in any games once the season begins.
In a meeting between Wall and the Rockets recently, Houston officials explained to Wall the direction of the franchise and that the team wants to protect the veteran guard’s health. The Rockets explained that the team does not want to jeopardize Wall’s fitness, and the sides agreed on the route that won’t complicate his ability to continue playing at a high level.
Wall joined the Rockets ahead of the 2020-21 season via a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards. After missing the second half of the 2018-19 campaign and all of the 2019-20 seasons due to injuries, Wall was given the opportunity to ease his way back into form for a team that, following the James Harden trade, shifted its focused towards the long-term. Wall averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game for the Rockets.
