(Editor’s note: We are continuing our individual reviews of all players from the Houston Rockets who finished the 2021-22 season with the team. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)
Rockets Player: John Wall, 6-foot-4 guard, 31 years old
2020-21 statistics: 20.6 points (40.4% FG, 31.7% on 3-pointers), 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game
Professional Experience: 11 NBA seasons
Contract Status: Under contract for 2022-23 at $47.4 million; free agent in 2023 offseason
Wall’s latest statistics are from the 2020-21 season, since he did not play at all in 2021-22 due to a mutual agreement between the player and club. Given Houston’s rebuilding state and a clear emphasis on developing young prospects, the Rockets chose to give Kevin Porter Jr. the starting role at point guard. Wall was offered a backup role, but the five-time All-Star was reportedly uninterested in such an arrangement.
The Rockets and Wall tried to work together on a trade, but given the size of his bloated contract and with two seasons still left at that time, nothing got to the finish line. Perhaps that changes in the 2022 offseason, now that Wall has become an expiring salary. If it does not, a contract buyout appears likely. Neither the team nor player was interested in buyout talks in 2021-22, but the financial figures will become much more manageable now that Wall’s contract only has one season left on it.
The Rockets acquired Wall in December 2020, which was when James Harden was still there and Houston had yet to make its rebuild pivot.