Russell Westbrook’s five big questions for John Wall’s business



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Welcome to the NBA, where no contract is exchangeable.

Washington’s John Wall and Houston’s Russell Westbrook had two of the NBA’s five worst contracts (possibly two of the first three), and the Rockets and Wizards decided to trade issues on Wednesday. Because Westbrook is the better player at this point, the Wizards had to pitch a future first-round pick.

It is a profession of renowned actors – each of which would have asked for a trade – and massive contracts, but that doesn’t shake things up much for Houston or Washington on the ground. In fact, this trade raises more questions than it answers.

Here are Westbrook’s five biggest questions for the Wall Trade.

1) How much does John Wall have left in the tank?

It is the greatest unknown of all this profession. Wall has not been on NBA court since December 2018 – almost two years – and has had a few major surgeries since then. Is Wall still an All-Star level player? Is he more like a good starter now? Has it slipped to save level? No one really knows, but the answer ties into the other big question for the Rockets:

Will Wall be okay next to James Harden?

The risk with Wall is his long history of injuries. Wall has craftsmanship in his game, he’s a good spot shooter (37% in a catch-and-shoot trio last season he’s played consistently), and he can reach the ledge and create. You have to cover Wall in the arc (unlike Westbrook the last season or two). Wall is also a better defender than Westbrook.

However, Wall was the last All-Star of the 2017-18 season, since then he has had major knee surgery and ruptured his Achilles. But even before the injuries, in the last two seasons he played, Wall’s effectiveness was starting to wane. Was it due to injuries – he played with bone spurs in his heel before his knee and Achilles injuries – or was his game just starting to show his age?

Over the past two seasons in Houston, Mike D’Antoni has directed the James Harden show – Harden has been given an all-you-can-eat buffet of Isolation Keys. Houston traded Clint Capela, so there wasn’t even a guy to make choices, it was just The Beard doing whatever he wanted. Westbrook had a lot of the ball in their hands last season, but Harden still had a ridiculous use rate.

The addition of a playmaker like Wall, bringing in more traditional players like Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins ​​in the middle, and a change of coach to Stephen Silas will mean a new, more traditional offensive system? in Houston? May be. The last two seasons have maximized Harden’s attack on the world and shown his limits. Silas will likely shake things up by making the Rockets more traditional in some ways (and getting Houston to play faster).

Do Wall and Harden go together? Perhaps the best question is: will they have a chance?

2) Does this mean a fire sale in Houston?

It’s not a fire sale, but the day the Rockets traded Robert Covington to Portland for draft picks, that was the day it became clear that the Rockets front office was thinking long term and potential reconstruction. Westbrook’s trade – even for Wall – is just another step down that road (as they added another choice).

Houston is doing business, and there is strong interest around the league in PJ Tucker, and guys like Eric Gordon and Danuel House could be commercial targets as well. Almost everyone wearing a Rockets jersey will be available by the deadline.

Don’t sleep on the fact that the Rockets picked a first-round pick in this trade (protected, but that likely translates to a first round in 2024 or 2025). Houston sent a lot of picks to trade for Westbrook, picking one up in that deal is a good fit for the rebuild that lies ahead.

3) What does this business mean to Bradley Beal? The wizarding offense?

Owner Ted Leonsis wants his Washington team to make the playoffs, and the Wizards just got better because Westbrook will actually be on the field putting the numbers down. Wall is back this season, but the risk of injury is high, and as previously stated (question # 1), no one knows where his game is.

At 32, Westbrook may be in decline, but he was an All-NBA player last season averaging 27 points per night and a very effective period until the middle of the season. Westbrook’s contract may have scared the teams, but he can still play – he was third All-NBA team last season – and him to the point next to Beal makes the Wizards better. (How much better? Go to question four.)

The quality of Westbrook and Beal’s mesh is an open question, with a lot of fallout for Scott Brooks and the staff (remember Brooks trained Westbrook in Oklahoma City). Beal had the rock in his hands for the past two seasons, now Westbrook will take some of those touches but he’s not as efficient as Beal. Will Beal be frustrated or will Washington win enough to get the issues sorted out?

This trade was a clear sign to other front offices (and fans) – Washington is not negotiating Beal. At least not this season. The Wizards never planned on doing it, and they kept saying it publicly, but now it’s even clearer that the goal is to make the playoffs and then try to convince Beal to stay in. long term.

Beal has three years on his contract, but the last of them is a $ 37.2 million player option. Beal will likely choose not to choose this final year so he can get the security of a longer deal. If Beal tells the Washington front office he wants out, the Wizards need to step up next offseason.

Whether he wants to or not will likely depend on how this season goes.

4) Can the Wizards make the playoffs?

Probably. If you plan on doing the play-in matches in the East, the playoffs.

These Wizards are a win-now team. Washington has its stars in Beal and Westbrook and a potentially strong group of role players around them: Davis Bertans, Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant and Robin Lopez in the middle, and newly drafted Deni Avdija. It’s a very good list.

However, the East is improving. Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, and Miami are probably the top five in the conference (in the order you want them placed), followed by Toronto and Indiana in my mind. It’s seven. I have Atlanta eighth. Is Washington better than the revamped Hawks?

In a gaming world where the Wizards just need to be in the top 10, they should be fine (Orlando is in that mix, too). But moving beyond play-in games can be a big demand, and even then the Wizards will land against the Bucks, Nets, or Celtics in the first round, and that will be too much to overcome.

5) Can the Rockets mend their relationship with Harden and keep him?

Only Harden can answer this question.

The Rockets continue to say they plan to mend the relationship with Harden, keep him and revamp a contender around him. He is not traded until the start of the season. All of this despite Harden’s attempt to force his way to Brooklyn (unlike Anthony Davis, Harden still had too many years on his contract, so there wasn’t much leverage). Let’s just say there’s a lot of skepticism around the league that Houston can fix things.

Houston wants the mother’s load in exchange for Harden, but there is currently no taker. For now, the Rockets and Harden will continue a rocky marriage … unless the Rockets launch another unexpected trade in the next few days.



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