Report: John Wall, Rockets working together on trade

The John Wall era in Houston will be a short-lived one, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports he and the team are working together to find a new home for the star guard. Houston will not be looking to buy Wall out of his contract, which is set to pay him $91.7 million over the next two seasons. That deal includes a player option of $47.4 million for the 2022-23 season.

When the Rockets open training camp later this month, the plan is for Wall to be a part of that, reports Charania. However, Wall is not expected to play in games for Houston.

Wall was in his first season with Houston in 2020-21, arriving there via the trade that sent Russell Westbrook from the Rockets to the Washington Wizards in the 2020 offseason.

Wall appeared in 40 games for Houston in 2020-21, averaging 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Last season was Wall’s first consistent NBA action since the 2018-19 season, when a left heel and Achilles injuries limited him to just 32 games. He did not play at all in 2019-20 as he recovered from his maladies.

Houston is coming off a 17-55 season in which it traded away former Kia MVP winner James Harden and struggled down the stretch of the season, finishing with seven wins in its final 53 games.

There are signs of hope for the Rockets, though. They selected Jalen Green with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, giving them a talented young guard. Houston also drafted Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher in the first round as well, further filling their roster with youngsters. They can all pair with versatile big man Christian Wood, who was a bright spot in his first season in Houston. He averaged 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds and shot 37.4% from 3-point range.

Kevin Porter Jr. was acquired from Cleveland for a heavily protected second-round pick in January. Porter dazzled at times, including a breakout game in April where he became the youngest in league history to post a 50-point, 10-assist game, days before his 21st birthday. Porter averaged 16.6 points and 6.3 assists in 26 games.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.