Washington Wizards: 5 trade destinations for John Wall

Could the Washinton Wizards trade with the Houston Rockets?

The Houston Rockets and Wizards have reportedly had conversations over a potential swap between Russell Westbrook and John Wall. The deal looks to be a simple swap but there are still some hurdles for this to get done.

What instantly stands out about the two is that they are on almost identical contracts. The positive here, in terms of making a trade work, is that a straight swap is possible without the other team having to either throw in or add salary to make a deal work.

However, the downside, of their contracts being dead ringers, is that a trade helps neither team free up cap space. This means a swap of the two will likely only be made as a last resort.

John Wall is not the player that Russell Westbrook is but he is substantially younger. The remaining years on his contract cover his age 30 to 32 seasons. Westbrook might be better in year one but his contract covers his age 32-to-34 seasons.

The two point guards are erroneously viewed as very similar players due to their otherworldly athleticism. In reality, Wall and Westbrook and two very different players.

Wall is more of a facilitator than Westbrook, over the course of Wall’s career he owns a 42.4 percent assist percentage with a 27.4 percent usage rate, while Westbrook has a 42.3 percent assist percentage with a 32.7 percent usage rate. While Wall and Westbrook have almost identical assist percentages, Westbrook’s higher usage rate means that Wall uses more of his possessions to facilitate someone else.

On the flip-side, Westbrook is much more of a scorer than Wall is. Westbrook for his career has averaged 23.2 points per game on 18.8 shots, compared to Wall’s 19 points per game on 15.9 shots. For Houston, Wall is a much more natural fit next to James Harden as a facilitator to the three-time scoring champ.

While neither is known for their shooting, Wall is a substantively better 3-point shooter than Westbrook. Wall’s career average of 32.4 percent from 3-point range far exceeds Westbrook’s 30.5 percent. Houston has made a habit of leading the league in 3-point attempts which once again makes Wall a better fit in Houston.

The reason why this deal hasn’t been made is because of the compensation that each team is determined to get from the trade. The Rockets believe they’re surrendering the better player and want draft capital, while the Wizards probably believe that Wall’s age is a mark in their favor. This trade will happen if both players leave their organizations no choice. However, barring that situation, it seems unlikely that the Rockets and Wizards will want to be saddled with the same contract they’re trying to be rid of.