I cannot see a trade happening, I cannot see the Rockets acquiring an asset in exchange for Wall. Trading him during the season is almost impossible, it has to happen before the start of the season while rosters are expanded to 20 so the Rockets don't have to cut players they would rather keep just to make roster spots for $37,893,408 in salary to land. The biggest issue being that Wall is an expiring contract and it takes $37,893,408 in outgoing salary for a team over the cap to acquire his contract. That's important because as things stand now, the Rockets have ZERO dollars committed to the 23/24 cap aside from the rookies they will draft next month. No team wants Wall at $47.3m. No team is giving you a player worth screwing up your 23/24 cap for Wall. No team is giving you $37,893,408 in expiring contracts for Wall, you'll take back a contract or two that lasts beyond the end of the season and .... that's just not smart. Stone is better off letting Wall expire than taking back bad contracts beyond the end of next season .... the only other option being buying him out. One of those two things happens - buy out or expire a Rocket.
There are still periodic rumors of trading him for Westbrook who allegedly would be more open to a buyout negotiation. Do their contacts end at the same time? It's time to bite the bullet and stop holding on to crippling contracts. That's when you know we are on the next phase of the rebuild.
It might not be a huge discount. He could find a team that is willing to play him and show that he's healthy, which could help with his next contract.
What will probably happen is after the deadline they will pay him the rest of his $$ in full. Wall will sign with another team and the amount that team pays him is what the Rockets recoup. It'll be the veteran minimum. There are two reasons they wouldn't do it sooner First they'd be about $40m under the cap floor if they did it now. Second is that there is ONE scenario where Wall's contract isn't worthless and that's if a superstar making the majority of the $37,893,408 demands a trade and would accept Houston as a destination. A team losing a star would much prefer to take on Wall's expiring deal than salary staying on their books multiple years.
We are that team, Wall is an All Star player that earned his contract. He is what our team needs in almost every way. With even more even younger talent please don’t just roll the ball out there again next year too. Wall did look bad and even worse at times two seasons ago. He was playing on a very bad team with less than average talent, what is a point guard going to like? I would much rather have Wall playing with our rookies than Porter. I still think the offensive system is a huge issue with the team.
Wood and Gordon for Westbrick and the LAL unprotected 2027 pick. Let Wallful and Westbrick expire together and we would have nearly enough cap room for two max FAs in 2023 to add to Green, Sengun, KPJ, ‘22 and ‘23 lotto picks.
Yeah, but I don't think it's that far fetched. Trade Wall for maybe 2 bad contracts and maybe one player has an extra year at 20 million. Based on last trade deadline, I have little faith that something will happen next year and you're likely right, but if you said before the season that our Brooklyn pick would be about the 27th pick, I would have said the same thing, that you're probably right, but strange things can happen.
Not my first choice, but if we're not planning on tanking next year, why not convince him to come off the bench as our 6th-7th man? If he plays well, we may find someone that believes he could make a difference for them in 2nd half of the season and work out an expiring swap. If not, he'd serve as a great vet PG off the bench (like Schroder).
Right now, No. But that can change in the blink of an eye. Who expected Morey to quit & Harden to demand a trade? I could see Utah blowing it up or one of Gobert or Donovan Mitchell demanding a trade this offseason. Not sure I'd pursue either of them tho. Gobert gets neutralized by a corner 3 shooter at the 5 & Mitchell can't guard ..... anyone. Have to see what the fallout is of the playoffs .... there's quite a few players who could become disgruntled / teams decide to blow it up as a result of their playoff results. What happens if Brooklyn comes back and beat Boston? Chicago had the East's best record for much of the season and they end up 6th. What about Miami? Jokic has one more year on his deal - I think its safe to say he tests the FA waters. There's lots of potential for drama this offseason and into next season where keeping John Wall's contract up to the trade deadline is preferable to just paying him to go away , even if coming to terms on a deal is very unlikely, you'd much rather have that contract than not if you are in the Rockets position.
I’d guarantee him a buyout after the deadline if he comes off the bench. Might help get us into a play in game and even just want to ride it out of the team is playing well besides injury, I think playing off the bench can do nothing but raise his stock for when he is a FA
You have to start at "What are the Rockets getting for their $47.3m?" What Wall and his contract represent to the Rockets is a trade exception between $37.74m & $59.225m that expires at the trade deadline. That's the range of salary the Rockets can trade in or out with his $47.3m contract - within 125%+/- $100k. Just because Westbrook might be more open to a buyout doesn't move the needle. That only helps the Lakers, Wall & Westbrook (& his next team who's paying him the minimum). I honestly think it's better to hang onto Wall & his contract until the trade deadline just in the off chance a star shakes loose. If you buy him out now, you lose the ability to trade his contract .... You got nothing for your $47.3 millions. I would entertain Wall for Westbrook & a draft pick with the agreement that Westbrook didn't play and that he would be bought out the day after the trade deadline if a deal didn't materialize sooner. But does Westbrook agree to that??? I don't think so ....
Wall is a better point guard than Porter at this very moment. We need a floor leaded that can help the new rookies and sophomores from day one. We don’t need 1/2 a season of Porter learning to play pick and roll with a dominant big. That doesn’t help the rookie. Porter is a 6th man. To stagger Green and Porter’s playing time helps both. Porter development was part of the tanking plan and it worked. Let us really develop the whole team now with leadership from a true point guard.
Precisely this. There is no big deal in "wasting" a roster spot on Wall. You can't play all 15 guys anyway!! See what happens - we have plenty of assets in terms of picks and young talent to acquire a disgruntled star who wants a change. We just need to keep the matching salary.
I very much support your way of thinking here. I think LBJ will push Lakers with Klutch to take Wall for Westbrook. I still think it happens because the alternatives are dire. I like your idea specifically for Russ. He is in a great bind. Sit out, which he will hate, or give up on a ridiculously low buyout, which he simply will not do. I think that makes him the ideal trade piece in your scenario. It gives us maximum flexibility to get the star or even be the third team to take the dross. Jokic is one of those out of the blue types but we need to put together a list of the new stars, not the old ones, that will be targets. We have been stuck on PG13, Kawhi, Buckets, Durant, etc. for so long and that market is finally dead. A LOT of those guys are going to be leaving the league at the same time and it is going to take a whole new crop of stars to replenish the trough like the early 2000s. We want to get two max slot guys before we have to pay our guys. That is how you build a champion. I would like to bottom out next year developing our team and then add on the big guns and let them work by the time the OKC pick handover comes around.
