John Wall signed with the Los Angeles Clippers after his contract was bought out by the Houston Rockets.
John Wall is certain that he can regain his form as an All-Star point guard who can do it all on the field despite having missed a year of basketball due to injury. He decided to join the Los Angeles Clippers during free agency because of the presence of longtime buddy and fellow All-Star Paul George and one of the finest players in the world, Kawhi Leonard.
In his first six seasons in the NBA, the former No. 1 overall choice (now 31) averaged 18.8 points, 9.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds while being widely considered the NBA’s fastest player. Injuries to the heel and Achilles tendon interrupted a streak of five straight All-Star Game participation. He disclosed that both his mother and a grandma had passed away due to cancer.
After being traded to Houston in 2020, he only participated in 40 games before spending the entire 2019–20 season away from the team and primarily training in Miami because he didn’t fit with the Rockets’ rebuild around a young backcourt.
Talking about his expectations with the Clippers, Wall said, “I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go I don’t have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those and have the pressure on me?”
He added, “Just imagine I got to push the pace and I have guys like a Kawhi Leonard or Paul George on this side or Nicolas Batum or Reggie Jackson or Terance Mann or Luke Kennard and have a big like [Ivica Zubac] who can run the floor.”
What version of Wall would the Clippers be getting, and would he still be able to collapse defenses with his speed off the dribble and into the paint? Wall has stated that he is 100% healthy and that he did not choose to miss last season’s games due to injury.
John Wall said, “For me, I’m happy because I don’t have to have the best player guarding me every night like I have had my whole career. You tell me the third-best defender is going to have to guard me? Good luck.”
He added, “Everybody kept saying he’s hurt. I wasn’t hurt at all. I was ready to play, I just was in a bad situation — well, not bad situation, but a situation I couldn’t control. And it was understandable. Like I said, nothing hard against those guys.”
The seeds of his interest in the Clippers had been planted long before that. Wall claimed that he had previously tried to lure both Leonard and George to Washington and that they had discussed the possibility of them joining the squad. Since they trained together before the 2010 NBA draft the two have become close friends.
John Wall has made it clear that he has no issues if the Clippers opt to start Reggie Jackson in his place, and he is comfortable playing off the bench. He knows what he brings to the table and can impact the game for his team no matter the role.
Wall said, “I’m just happy to play basketball again. I’m a competitor. I know a lot of people ask me, are you mad if you start or not start — I don’t care, I’m a competitor and I just want an opportunity to go out there and compete for a spot and if I get it I get it. And if I don’t, we know how talented Reggie Jackson is and what he’s done for this team.”
He added, “I’m just like, OK, this is a team that I can fit with. Watching where I feel like they need some speed, and someone who can break down the defense, get into the paint. Find guys. That’s what my job was. That’s what I’ve done my whole career. And getting people paid. That’s what I do.”
This upcoming season will be the Los Angeles Clippers to win. They were already formidable, but adding John Wall only made them more so. After having several key players return from injuries, the Clippers should be able to challenge for the title again the following year.
John Wall proved he could still play at a high level despite missing the first part of the previous season due to heel surgery and an Achilles tendon tear. After spending part of last season on the bench for the Rockets, he trained independently in Miami.
Kawhi Leonard is another athlete who has demonstrated similar behavior. After missing the entirety of the previous season, he will return for the upcoming one. Before he got hurt last year in the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, he was performing at an All-Star level.
Kawhi and George, two of the league’s best players, will be raring to go once the season starts. John Wall should not be forgotten. He will be back to full health after missing time with injuries and will be the driving force behind the Clippers’ success.
In the upcoming NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers will be considered a serious title contender. They have a stacked roster and key players are returning from injuries, thus they may be able to take out the entire tournament.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have already shown that they are a championship-winning tandem, and if Kawhi hadn’t gotten hurt against the Jazz last year, they would have won the championship. But they will get another chance, and this time they will be more prepared.
They are fortunate to have two solid scorers in Normann Powell and John Wall. When they’re on, they’re on, and their roster depth is unmatched. If they can avoid injuries, no team in the NBA is good enough to beat them in a best-of-seven series right now.
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