I can't believe Wall is just wasting the last years of his prime when he is already worth 100+ million -- take a reasonable buy out dude. Ferntits offer him a reasonable buyout.
This is why all the people fantasizing that Wall has value as an expiring are way off base. You'd have to give up either your star players or half your roster to make that happen, why would anybody do that just for an expiring contract? Wall sits til he expires with us unless somebody really wants him as an actual player and has enough chaff to make the numbers work. He has zero value as an expiring contract to anybody except us.
Yeah - I am with you. Might as well wait and see what happens with his option! He would be crazy to decline it, but one never knows. The dude may be mad keen to play basketball, but 45 mill is 45 mill... On the other hand, a buyout this season could include the negotiated stipulation that he decline the option. In which case it might make a lot of sense? The $$ hit for this season is irrelevant anyway, since we can't use it, so a full buyout (if he agrees to waive option) might not be a stupid option. Then he can sign on somewhere to ring chase, and potentially sign a full MLE level deal next year, and sure, make 30mill less, but having made zillions already he can play and compete for a couple more years
Legally, what is the earliest a player can officially and irreversibly decline their option year? I could see him telling the Rockets he'll decline the option if they'll let him play (in order to rebuild his value for a new contract) but otherwise, he'd be insane to turn down 45 million.
Cant blame him for not wanting to leave money on the table. His career may be done soon, and he’ll most likely never be able to earn that kind of money again in his life.
There's no scenario that Wall turns down that option. It would be criminally stupid. He's never going to see that much money ever again.
Gotta think outside the confinements of the Rockets. Same thing with Melo. It is a conflict of interest agenda. If you agree to come off the bench, other teams would want you to come off the bench as well. Sixth man contracts are never as lucrative as starter contracts. Once gone down the road, you might get closer to retirement than you would like to, not if that guy wants to fight it.
Not sure of the exact answer - my understanding is that there is a deadline to take it up by (otherwise it lapses). I can't think of a reason why it would not be "declineable" at any time earlier than that? There would be no reason for the Rox to let him play to build value. There are most likely any number of teams happy to play Wall at league minimum salary. Since Houston is paying him anyway, him declining the option in a buyout could see him paid full salary for this year, and with the option to sign with anyone he wanted for league minimum (perhaps for guaranteed playing time?) Just speculate as to which bubble or playoff team would play John Wall if he signed for the minimum.
That's not true. Wall could look at Derrick Rose as a damn good example of refining his game to play within the limited athletic abilities created by his prior injuries. It's not as if John Wall is going to get another max contract, that ship has sailed at this point. What John needs to focus on is re-inventing his game, working on his shot, to be able to squeeze out a few more years out of his career. He needs to work with the Rockets to make sure he plays next season, even if that means accepting a bench role. His current problem is that his current contract is worth a lot of money and there isn't one damn good reason why he should give up a single penny until he cashes out. His best bet is to wait until next season and more than likely, after the trading deadline, if he isn't traded, the Rockets will likely be okay with buying out the rest of his contract at that point. If John has played well enough as a sixth man, someone will pick him up for the minimum, and assuming he continues his good play, he will likely land a favorable contract the following season (assuming he stays healthy).
He doesn't have a choice. If Rockets wanted to play him off the bench he'd have to agree to it or face potential fines. Rockets just don't want to play him.
"Wall spoke to Rockets officials and stated his desire is to play, have a starting role and compete to maintain it, but the franchise informed him that they want him to come off the bench, and not start, in order to play, sources tell The Athletic. The outcome of the conversations is that Wall will continue to sit out games while remaining professional and being around and engaged with the team, sources said. Rockets officials informed Wall in their conversations on Sunday that they were not willing to guarantee him a starting role." link
just to be clear, I see it as a very remote (I.e almost 100% unlikely) possibility. I’m mostly curious as to the earliest an option can officially (and enforceably) be declined. By that I mean that once the option is declined, the player can’t change his mind.
That depends on how you look at it. Derrick Rose never again averaged over 20 post surgery (even though he had couple of 18 ppg seasons 2 years ago) However, John Wall came back from major injury and averaged 20.6 and 7 apg. He is also known as a better passer than Derrick Rose but he is not the shooter Rose has become! From that standpoint, John Wall seems to be better than this version of Derrick Rose by a notch, better equipped to start and play limited minutes than coming off the bench because he is not a shooter. Time will tell because the sample size is not big enough to conclude anything other than he needs playing time. A statline of a 19-20 and 7-8 is good enough to be a starter on an average veteran team that is obviously not in complete rebuilding mode.