Tag: John Wall

DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Silas react to John Wall joining Rockets

“This is something that me and him have planned and dreamed about for a long time,” Cousins said of playing alongside Wall.

There was no shortage of discussion topics at Thursday’s training camp media availability with new Houston Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins and head coach Stephen Silas.

But with the team less than 24 hours removed from a blockbuster trade involving the departure of Russell Westbrook and the addition of five-time All-Star guard John Wall, it was clear what the lead story was.

For Silas, the backcourt combination of Westbrook and James Harden that he anticipated upon taking the job a month ago has now transitioned to a Wall-Harden partnership. And for Cousins, it’s an opportunity to reunite with a close friend that he’s known since childhood, and one with whom he played more than a decade ago at the University of Kentucky.

Here’s a rundown of Thursday’s most memorable quotes by Cousins and Silas, as it pertains to Wall joining the Rockets.

Cousins on the Harden-Wall pairing:

I think it can work. I honestly do. I think John will make James’ job easier. He doesn’t have to handle the ball and make plays for everybody as much, or at the rate he’s done in the past. He won’t be as gassed at the end of games.

Cousins on the trade, and reuniting with Wall:

We’re super excited. I’m pretty sure he’s as excited as I am. There’s obviously chemistry between us from our college days. That’s one of my better friends in the NBA, he was a groomsman in my wedding. His game speaks for itself.

It’s an incredible feeling. This is something that me and him have planned and dreamed about for a long time. That’s a brother for life.

Cousins on when he knew the deal was happening:

Obviously it was something we were talking about, before the news [of the trade] broke for you guys.

Silas on how Wall fits into his offense:

To have John Wall pushing the ball up the floor, and either passing ahead to a running wing, or keeping it and getting the ball into the paint and making all of the great passes that he’s made over his career — that’s accentuated by playing the way that I want to play. Five-out with space, and allowing guys to get into the paint and do their thing.

Silas on his immediate reaction to acquiring Wall:

How dynamic John has been in his career, and some of the nightmares that I’ve had trying to defend him in the pick and roll, and all the pick-and-roll passes that he’s able to make.

When I was in Charlotte, we were in the same division, so we saw him four times per year. Really, with his size and speed and passing ability and ability to get to the rim and make shots, there’s so many things you can do. Especially now that the game has changed.

The game has changed so much in a good way for him, because we’re playing with so much more space. I’m very excited to have him on the team.Defensively, he can get after it, he can switch. He has size, he has physicality. Definitely very excited that he’s going to be a part of what we’re doing here, moving forward.

Now 30 years old, Wall played nine seasons in Washington since being chosen No. 1 overall in the NBA’s 2010 draft. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 19.0 points (43.3% FG) and 9.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game, and he shot 37.1% on 3-pointers in 2017-18 before running into foot problems during the early part of 2018-19. Wall did not play last season (2019-20), as he continued to rehabilitate and recover from an Achilles tear.

Friday’s camp interview schedule will be announced in the morning.

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Rockets Media Day highlights: Stephen Silas and DeMarcus Cousins

Houston’s recent acquisition of John Wall was a popular topic of discussion in Thursday’s chat with Stephen Silas and DeMarcus Cousins.

Less than 24 hours after the blockbuster trade involving John Wall and a future draft pick for Russell Westbrook, members of the Houston Rockets met with the media on Thursday afternoon from training camp.

Thursday’s speakers were new head coach Stephen Silas and recent signing DeMarcus Cousins. For Silas, it was his first availability to reporters since the team’s flurry of offseason moves — which culminated with the Westbrook-for-Wall swap on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Cousins discussed not only his own decision to join the Rockets, but also his friendship with Wall after playing with the 6-foot-4 guard at the University of Kentucky more than a decade ago.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Cousins, who called Wall a “brother for life” in his comments about playing with Wall in Houston. “This is something that me and him have planned and dreamed about for a long time.”

See below for a social media compilation of the most important takeaways from Thursday’s media session at Toyota Center.

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Read John Wall’s heartfelt farewell note to Wizards fans

I’m not crying, you are.

The John Wall era in Washington is over. The Wizards traded Wall and a 2023 protected first round pick to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook.

Wall has been a Wizard for his entire career and was one of the longest-tenured players with one team in the NBA. Not only that, be he also ingratiated himself with the the people of the city. There was a legitimate connection between them.

So it’s no wonder that Wall’s goodbye to the city was so heartfelt. In a tweet, he thanked Wizards fans for supporting him for as long as they have. It was extremely touching.

Take a look.

“I may not wear the jersey anymore but I will never forget what it meant to represent for y’all. This isn’t the way I thought I would say goodbye to this city, so I won’t…I will say thank you. “

Man. Houston’s got a good one.

Woj: James Harden wanted John Wall in Houston over Westbrook

“If they can get John Wall back playing at a high level, they’re hopeful that will help to make a case to James Harden,” Woj said.

On Wednesday night, it was reported that John Wall wanted the blockbuster trade that sent him from the Washington Wizards to the Houston Rockets, in exchange for All-Star guard Russell Westbrook.

On Thursday, a report emerged that James Harden — who will play alongside Wall in Houston’s new backcourt — also wanted the deal.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

[Harden] had a preference of John Wall over Westbrook. … Whether that’s going to be enough to convince him to want to be there long-term, the Rockets aren’t sure about that.

They do have a cushion to work with. Remember, James Harden is under contract for two more years. So they’re going to start the season with Harden and Wall, and they’re hopeful that John Wall can get back to that All-Star form — a five-time All-Star, a former No. 1 overall pick. If they can get John Wall back playing at a high level, they’re hopeful that will help to make a case to James Harden.

By all appearances, Wall and Harden have had a positive relationship over the years, with Wall competing in Harden’s inaugural charity basketball game in Houston in 2017. They also played in pickup games together this October in Miami. Relative to Westbrook, Wall is two years younger and was a superior 3-point shooter in his most recent seasons prior to injury — which may help to better space the floor for Harden in 2020-21.

As for Harden’s long-term future, he reportedly requested a trade to the Nets earlier this offseason, which the Rockets have thus far resisted due to Brooklyn’s lack of high-level assets in potential packages. That said, there has yet to be any indication that Harden has walked back his request, which leaves the Rockets in a precarious position.

While it doesn’t seem that Wall’s addition is enough at this moment to convince Harden of committing further to the Rockets, the fact that the move was apparently Harden’s preference could prove helpful as the team works to restore its relationship with the superstar guard.

Now 30 years old, Wall played nine seasons in Washington since his selection as the top pick in the 2010 draft. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 19.0 points (43.3% FG) and 9.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game.

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Here’s why the John Wall trade hurts Washington, D.C. more than the Wizards

John Wall was Washington, D.C. He’s gone now.

Everything about yesterday’s John Wall trade is exactly why sports has become such a struggle for me these days.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a Wizards fan. I’ve been a Wizards fan for as long as I can remember. I was here for the Jordan era. I remember Antonio Daniels getting crossed up by Allen Iverson twice in one play. I was there for Gilbert Arenas. All of it. This is my team, for better or for worse. And I’ve been through it all with them.

But when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Wizards had finally traded Wall and a protected 2023 first round pick to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook, I felt like I was done.

This team had betrayed me — betrayed its fan base. They’d sent the most beloved Washington Wizard in, at the very least, the last two decades away for a point guard who was well past his prime.

And Russell Westbrook is fine! He’s a great guy. He’s a former MVP and will be a Hall of Famer when he retires. But he’s not the same player he used to be, and certainly not one that will make this team appreciably better.

But really, that was beside the point. That wasn’t the issue. Looking at this in a vacuum, this trade is fine. To everyone outside of D.C.? This makes total sense. Wall hasn’t played basketball in two years! Russ is clearly the better option here.

But to the city? Wall deserved so much better. You have to be from here to truly understand why. Let me explain.

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

To know why John Wall means so much to the people of D.C., you have to know what the city was like when he got here and what it was before he ever knew he was going to be here.

Washington, D.C. was affectionately known as “Chocolate City” for decades — it was the first American city to have a majority Black population starting in 1957. That number skyrocketed to 71% by 1970 with many of the folks moving into the city coming from North Carolina.

But that was the apex of Chocolate City that, well, isn’t quite as chocolate anymore.

These days, D.C. is less of a safe haven for Black folks and more of a transient playground for transplants from other places around the country. You know, people more interested in politics, media, law. All that good stuff. Many of those people are white.

And like every other major city in America, D.C. is also plagued by gentrification. The Black families who have lived in the city for decades and been underserved have been uprooted and replaced to make room for those transplants.

By 2011, Chocolate City was nothing more than a fond memory. D.C. hadn’t felt Black anymore — not for a while. That was just the year it became official. The city’s Black population dipped below 50% for the first time in half a century.

Enter John Wall. In 2010, the Wizards draft this 6’4, 196 pound soaking wet kid from Kentucky by way of Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s an exciting time. Some folks are calling him the best prospect since LeBron James in 2003. And he’s from North Carolina, too? He’s basically from here. This is the guy.

Still, though, people are nervous. What’s this kid like? We hear he’s kind of a hot head. What if this doesn’t work out? What if he doesn’t like the city? Nobody likes the city.

First thing he does when he touches the Wizards court? It wasn’t a bucket. It wasn’t a crazy assist. It wasn’t an epic chasedown block. It was the Dougie.

WORD. This was it. This was the guy. This was D.C.’s guy. In a city that was slowly losing its identity, Wall restored some semblance of it on the first night of his career. He reminded D.C. what it was. Fun, brash, flashy, braggadocious, but also humble. And also really good. 

But that’s really just where the relationship begins. That’s when D.C. met John Wall — it’s not when they fell in love with him. That happened over the course of the next 10 years.

That love grew every time Wall belted out “this is my city” after a ferocious dunk or chasedown block in the 4th quarter of a close game. It grew with every flashy pass he made that led to a dunk or a corner 3. It grew every time he played through an injury that he probably should’ve sat out with.

And that’s just on the court. Off the court? He held the city down in ways that not many players before him have and not many after him will.

Look, every player hosts some charity event and gives some significant donation to an important cause. They all have some spiel for doing what they’re doing. But it’s not always genuine. There’s not always a real commitment — a real connection.

With Wall? He was never afraid to go out and touch the people. Every time he held a backpack drive in the heart of the Southside of the city, he’d be there for hours on end handing out school supplies, signing autographs and playing with kids he doesn’t know.

When people in the city were in need, he held them down. His foundation raised $300,000 for the 202 Assist program to help residents in D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods pay their rent in the middle of a pandemic. Even last week, amid swirling trade rumors, he still handed out free meals and grocery gift cards to the neediest folks in the heart of the city.

As long as he’s played here, he’s always actually been here. He’s always had his boots on the ground in the city when people needed him the most. And folks appreciate that. They never forget it. That’s more valuable than any bucket he could score or any dime he could dish out.

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

So back to why sports fandom has become such a struggle for me.

Most of the sentiment from general NBA fans has been on the side of the Wizards. Just hop on the internet and look at the tweets. They range everywhere from “Wizards fans should be thankful that they got off that contract” to “Russell Westbrook is a much better player anyway.” There’s also the thing about him throwing gang signs up at a party in a video that surfaced back in September.

And, look. No one is defending that. That’s childish behavior from a 30-year old man who had no business doing what he was doing. It was stupid. And, yes, that contract is terrible for a player who hasn’t played in two years and is coming back from a torn Achilles. And, yes, Russell Westbrook might just be the better player.

But when you talk about that terrible contract, make sure you talk about all the dollars from it that have been invested into actually helping people. When you bring up that video to tear him down, be sure to talk about the people he’s uplifted in D.C.

So much of the discourse on athletes, in general, misses the little things like that. For me, John Wall was my last bastion of that. With him out of D.C., I don’t know if I’ll ever see that again.

And that’s what makes this all so sad to me.

With Washington tenure over, can John wall resurrect career in Houston?

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt discusses the end of the John Wall era in Washington and why Houston may be the perfect place for him to resurrect his career.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt discusses the end of the John Wall era in Washington and why Houston may be the perfect place for him to resurrect his career.

John Wall for Russell Westbrook trade could mark end of James Harden-to-Brooklyn talks

John Wall is now a member of the Rockets. Russell Westbrook is heading to Washington. What does that mean for James Harden and Houston?

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The Houston Rockets made a trade Wednesday night that had popped up in the NBA rumor mill previously but didn’t appear to have legs once the Washington Wizards general manager said star point guard John Wall wasn’t going anywhere.

Yet on Wednesday, the Rockets announced John Wall is coming to Houston as Washington welcomed Rusell Westbrook to their squad.

Initially, this move appears to be one of two things on the part of Houston: either the Rockets are trying to move their major pieces to bring in new ones to restructure rather than acquire picks and young talent to rebuild, or James Harden wanted to move on from Westbrook and team-up with Wall.

During his appearance on “Get Up,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed it’s the latter.

“For both Houston and Washington, each is trying to please their franchise player, James Harden and Bradley Beal,” he said. “They exchanged both point guards — both point guards wanted to go to the other team. And there’s a lot at stake for both Washington and Houston now, as they move forward trying to keep Bradley beal, trying to keep James Harden long-term.”

Wojnarowski continued, focusing on Harden.

“He had a preference of John Wall over Westbrook. Although, in the last couple years, Harden has moved teammates in and out. Brought Chris Paul in, moved him out. Same with Russell Westbrook no. Whether that’s going to be enough to convince him to wanna be there long-term, [the] Rockets aren’t sure about that.  … They’re gonna start the season with Harden and Wall, and they’re hopeful Wall can get back to that All-Star form.”

The Rockets and Wizards are both losers in the Russell Westbrook and John Wall trade

Both teams didn’t get good grades.

It was the swap that had been much-rumored in the 2020 NBA offseason: the Houston Rockets would send star point guard Russell Westbrook and his giant contract to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and his enormous deal. It didn’t make the most sense for either team, but it was a change of scenery for both.

Well, it happened! Wall is now a Rocket and Westbrook is headed to D.C., so of course it’s time to hand out some trade grades. Spoiler alert: neither fanbase is going to be very happy about how we see this one.

Here’s how we see it:

Washington reacts to the shocking trade of John Wall to Houston

Wall was a member of the Wizards since being selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 draft, and he developed tight bonds with the community.

Washington traded 30-year-old guard John Wall and a future first-round draft pick to the Houston Rockets for 32-year-old Russell Westbrook, presumably (at least in part) because the Wizards didn’t want the injury risk of Wall coming off an Achilles tear that cost him all of last season.

Nonetheless, it’s hard to characterize Wall’s decade in Washington — which began with his selection at No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft — as anything but a success. In all, Wall played in nine seasons there, averaging 19.0 points (43.3% FG) and 9.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game, and he was a five-time All-Star over that span.

During that time, Wall also became well known for his extensive community work in and aaround Washington, DC.

As a result, many members of the Washington organization — as well as fans and media covering the team — were sad to see him go. After Wednesday’s trade announcement, here’s a sampling of their reaction.

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Kevin Durant on working out with John Wall: ‘He looked amazing’

“He looked amazing to me,” Durant said of Wall after playing with him this offseason. “He looked great. I’m excited to see John play again.

When Kevin Durant met with the media Tuesday at Brooklyn’s opening of training camp, he didn’t know that John Wall was on the verge of being traded from the Washington Wizards to the Houston Rockets.

Nonetheless, Durant did comment on Wall’s physical condition, having played with him in the recently completed NBA offseason. Both Wall and Durant are All-Star players from the Washington, DC area, and each missed the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from an Achilles tear.

As a result, Wall and Durant are working to bounce back, with each counting on 2020-21 for a return to form. Per Durant, Wall is ready to go:

He looked amazing to me. He looked great. … I’m excited to see John play again. He’s been out for two years now. I know he wants to go out there and play great basketball and lead that team, so I’m excited for him that he’s back.

In October, Wall said he “felt young” heading into this season.

“I feel young, to be honest,”Wall told NBC Sports Washington. “I hooped today and I [said] I didn’t even feel like I played today. You know, that’s the most important thing to me, just locking in to have my body prepared for a whole season, no matter how many minutes I play.”

Wall played nine seasons in Washington, averaging 19.0 points (43.3% FG) and 9.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game. Since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, he’s a five-time NBA All-Star to date..

Now 30 years old, Wall hasn’t played in the league since early 2019 — which is why the Rockets got both Wall and the premium of a future first-round draft pick in exchange for Russell Westbrook. But with the 2020-21 season looming in just a few weeks, Wall hopes to recapture his pre-injury form with the Rockets and make the trade a worthwhile investment.

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