John Wall received a pay cut to escape Houston.
The 31-year-old All-Star baseman accepted a purchase with the Rockets and plans to sign a free agent deal with the Clippers, ESPN reported Monday night.
Wall – to whom the Rockets had owed $ 47.4 million after exercising the player option for the final year of his contract – agreed to take $ 6.5 million less to become an agent free.
Clippers star Paul George appeared to react to Wall’s news on his Instagram story Monday night, adding an eyeball emoji over an old photo of the two leaning for a high five. Wall has not yet addressed the report publicly, as of Tuesday morning.
Wall didn’t play last season after the baseman and Houston agreed to sit down as the team focused on rebuilding and developing their young talent in Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr.
According to reports, John Wall took a pay cut to leave Houston.AP
The five-time All-Star split his time last season between working solo in Miami and participating in training sessions, as well as sitting on the bench during games.
Wall averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists in 40 games for the Rockets in 2020-21, after missing the 2019-20 season due to heel surgery and an Achilles tendon rupture. · Les.
Wall was loaned to Houston along with a future first-round pick for Russell Westbrook in December 2020, after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Wizards, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the draft. of 2010.
Given their equally inflated contract, there were reports that they re-linked Wall and Westbrook last season in commercial rumors. However, the Lakers refused to give up a future draft pick in the deal.
Wall has been productive while healthy and could add veteran games to the Clippers, who already have a solid duet in George and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard is on his way back after missing the entire 2021-22 season while recovering from a partially broken ACL in his right knee.