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Houston Rockets: Why they should not play John Wall next season

By Zamir Bueno

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 19: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat laughs with John Wall #1 of the Houston Rockets after the game at American Airlines Arena on April 19, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 19: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat laughs with John Wall #1 of the Houston Rockets after the game at American Airlines Arena on April 19, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Why the Houston Rockets should simply not play John Wall next season

Consequently, the best option for the Rockets is for Wall not to play next season. If the Rockets tell John Wall not to play, they could go down three avenues. They could begin to pay him his $44.3 million salary this season and wait to see if John Wall gets anxious about wanting to play.

Wall has previously stated that if it was up to him, he would play basketball all day long. If this is still his mentality, he might approach the Houston Rockets halfway through the season and say, “I’m willing to give some money back to gain my freedom and go play elsewhere.”

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If he doesn’t approach the Rockets about a buyout next season, they could keep him on the sideline and monitor the trade market to see if a team is desperate to give assets for his services. It is not the first time that this happened as the Golden State Warriors traded Andre Iguodala, who was scheduled to earn $16 million to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019.

The Warriors wanted to clear cap space to acquire D’Angelo Russell in a sign and trade from Brooklyn. On the other hand, Memphis was looking to immediately flip Iguodala as they only acquired him because Golden State attached a first-round pick in the trade.

Unfortunately, Memphis was unable to trade him immediately leading both sides to come to an agreement in September that he wasn’t going to play until they traded him to a team with championship aspirations. Before the 2020 trade deadline, the Miami Heat traded Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters for Iguodala and Jae Crowder.

Suppose neither of the first two scenarios happens. In that case, they could pay Wall the remainder of his salary for that season and begin buyout negotiations the following off-season as he will only have $47.3 million left on the deal.

In conclusion, it is best for the Rockets not to play John Wall next season to prevent his desire to play and market value from decreasing.

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