After sitting out for the first quarter of the season, Houston Rockets point guard John Wall has reportedly informed the team he wants to return to the rotation. That’s all good and well, but it appears the two sides are not even over Wall’s prospective role on the team. According to Shams Charania of <em>The Athletic,</em> Wall told the Rockets that he wants to be a starter when he returns to the court and be able to compete to maintain his role in the starting lineup. The Rockets, however, feel that Wall should come off the bench at first, and prove he’s deserving of being a starter.
Today, John Walll posted a workout video on Instagram where he wrote"#FreeMe".
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Wall has two years and $91 million remaining on his contract, so it’s understandable that the market is pretty frosty on him right now. It’s not that he’s not a capable starting point guard in the NBA but trading for a deal like that requires matching significant salary and forgoing future cap flexibility. Normally someone in Wall’s situation chooses to play out his contract or pursues a buyout with the team. However, Rockets GM Rafael Stone balked at the idea of a contract buyout on Media Day and the reporting suggests that nothing has changed. This isn’t a surprise as a buyout would require Houston to pay most of the contract money up-front and Wall to take a haircut on the deal in order to secure his freedom.
