By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Five-time NBA All-Star John Wall can remain sidelined through the 2021-22 NBA season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned during Wednesday’s “NBA Countdown”.
Wall, 31, has yet to make an appearance for the rebuilding Houston Rockets in the Regular Season after agreeing to sit out while trade options are explored. There are no plans in place to retract that decision, while his contract is a stumbling block against a move elsewhere in the league.
The former Kentucky standout was traded to the Rockets in December 2020 after spending the first ten years of his pro career at the Washington Wizards. He was coming off a long stay on the injury list.
The contract signed in 2017 and carried to Houston expires this summer. Following the $44M salary for the current season, it also includes a $47M player option for the 2022-23 season. “It doesn’t appear any teams are willing to gamble on his contract,” noted Wojnarowski.
Wall is not prepared to decline the option to facilitate a trade to another team, nor negotiate a buyout to become an unrestricted free agent. “Any team that would potentially trade for him would want him to decline that option,” reported the NBA insider, “Well, he’s not doing that, he’s not giving that money back.”
He last played in late April concluding his 2020-21 campaign at 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per contest.
Early in the 2021-22 Regular Season, the Rockets are 1-10, featuring mainly young upstarts, including Turkish Alperen Sengun and Spanish Usman Garuba.
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