The Houston Rockets have made it no secret that they desperately want to trade John Wall.
They also haven’t been shy about explaining why.
Nevertheless, despite some chatter about three teams having interest in Wall, nothing has actually materialized.
Until now.
It appears the Los Angeles Clippers are becoming legit players in the hunt for Wall.
According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, a possible Wall-to-L.A. trade is one to watch.
“Wall does not wield the same level of explosion he did in his heyday, but he can still put pressure on set defenses and constitutes a demonstrative outside shooting and playmaking upgrade over Eric Bledsoe,” he wrote.
“This isn’t enough of an incentive for the Clippers to fully embrace his pay grade. But the opportunity cost is reasonable enough for them to think about it—particularly with Kawhi Leonard possibly out for the season. Bledsoe is too often an offensive non-factor, and Serge Ibaka hasn’t looked right since returning from his back injury. Neither is especially likely to stick with L.A. beyond this season.
“Luke Kennard is the sticking point. After opening the year on relative fire, he has dipped below 34 percent shooting from deep over the past 12 games and is hitting barely 40 percent of his twos for the season.”
It’s easy to see why Houston would want this deal. Kennard is way younger and he is owed less money on the rest of his contract (roughly $44 million) than Wall is owed next year (approximately $47 million). For the Clippers, this deal is a bit less appetizing. Substantial draft capital and financial incentivization would likely need to be involved.
There is one main disagreement at the core of Wall and the Rockets’ current spat. But it seems unlikely that it will get resolved any time soon.
Will the Rockets ultimately be able to unload him ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline? And will it be to the Clippers? Time will tell.
More must-reads: