NBA Trade Rumors: 5-time All-Star planning for a reunion with the Washington Wizards in the summer

John Wall was once one of the NBA's premier point guards, but injuries and a colossal contract have fueled his downfall. Since moving to the Houston Rockets, Wall has found himself away from the team. First, he went out with an injury. The team then desired to get younger with a full-scale rebuild, choosing to let him sit all season.

As such, we've seldom seen Wall strut his stuff on an NBA floor for the best part of 39 months.

In the 2018-19 season, Wall's last game was on Dec. 26, 2018. He had heel surgery in 2019. Recovery from that, plus a resulting heel infection and a subsequent left Achilles tendon rupture caused him to miss all of 2019-20. He played 40 games in Houston in 2020-21 but a hamstring injury ended that season with 12 games remaining. His last game was April 23, 2021.

The former All-Star operating hasn't been seen at close to his optimum level for many years. His last full season was in 2016-17. He played 41 games in 2017-18, limited by a knee injury. So, the burning question is: What's next for Wall?

According to a report from The Athletic, Wall has voiced interest in returning to the Washington Wizards and re-forming his backcourt partnership with All-NBA talent Bradley Beal. However, there's nothing to say that Washington shares this desire.

“If it can plausibly be argued that the (Los Angeles) Lakers would benefit by getting Wall from Houston for Russell Westbrook, a potential trade rumored to have been discussed before the trade deadline, why wouldn’t the Wizards also improve by re-emigrating their former five-time All-Star?" David Aldridge wrote for The Atheltic.

"Wall would welcome a return to the team that took him with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. It’s something he recently discussed with people close to him and around the league."

Wall's Contract a stumbling block

When talking about John Wall's current situation, it's easy to point to his career averages of 19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists. Who wouldn't want a dominant floor general who provides almost a double-double nightly?

The bigger issue is that Wall's mammoth contract still has another year to run. Given that he's now an unknown commodity following multiple injuries, that's a huge gamble to take. According to Spotrac, the final year of Wall's contract is a player option valued at $47.36 million. Considering he's unlikely to get close to that sort of deal again, we can be pretty confident he opts into that final year.

Whichever team trades for Wall needs to be aware that not only will they be paying a premium, but that the guard is also a flight risk the following season. That's if he performs well and rebuilds some cache around the NBA.

Right now, Wall is on the outside of the NBA looking in. Sure, he's cashing in some lofty checks, but he isn't playing, and that will likely be a driving factor in his decision-making this offseason.

Perhaps that's why the Wizards make so much sense. Wall always seemed happy in Washington, has a good relationship with the fanbase and could aid in convincing Beal to sign a super-max. Of course, the best way to keep Beal happy is to quickly become competitive in the Eastern Conference. But there's no guarantee that Wall is capable, or durable enough to aid in that quest.