The NBA Trade rumors may soon have a new name as its regular subject as John Wall is being projected by pundits to demand a trade in the near future.
There has been talk about that possibility as covered in a previous report but the fear of Wall following the path of Chris Paul (who forced himself out of New Orleans, has already loomed even near the trade deadline. Sports Illustrated team blog Wiz of Awes discussed that possibility.
"Our collective worst fear is that John Wall gets fed up with the Washington Wizards and demands a trade. I don't think Wall is that type of player, but I also don't think it would be the worst thing in the world," Ben Mehic of WoA wrote.
Wall has developed deep ties in the DC community and it would take a lot for him to want out. But as Mehic points out, the way for the Wiz to keep Wall is to acquire a star. "The team can prevent any of that drama by acquiring talent. It's that simple. The dude deserves to play with better players," Mehic concluded.
This offseason was not so promising for Wall. What they got was Ian Mahinmi who fills a need and Bradley Beal took up all the cap space for the next couple of years. The Wizards could not be players for free agents in 2017 and perhaps 2018 anymore with money tied up for Beal and Mahinmi, not to mention Marcin Gortat.
The forecast for the Wizards according to ESPN is eighth place..barely making the playoffs. That will set them up for a series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. These are two capped up teams but the Cavs are contenders and the Wiz could actually get booted to the lottery considering the improvement of teams like the Knicks and Pacers.
If Wall does want out, where could the Wizards trade him? The idea is that he should end up on a team that could contend and also provide assets to Washington. The previous report named the Celtics, Mavericks and Kings as the star-hungry teams, but two particular teams standout as more attractive partners.
The Utah Jazz has tried to fill in their need for a better point guard and they recently traded for George Hill. However, if Wall is on the table, the Jazz could send Hill, Dante Exum and Derrick Favors for a true star in John Wall. The Wizards could also use this opportunity to rid themselves of Marcin Gortat. Wall and Gortat for Favors, Exum and Hill works on the Trade Machine.
The Milwaukee Bucks have experimented on Giannis being the point guard but Jason Kidd coaching John Wall could produce the best results for the team.
Trading Khris Middleton, Michael Carter-Williams and Greg Monroe for Wall and Gortat works on the Trade Machine as well. The Bucks will have a core of Wall, Parker and Antetokounmpo as well as getting rid of Greg Monroe.
Monroe could actually be a good fit for the Wizards as their main inside option for offense. Middleton and Beal will give them a double-barreled shooting threat and MCW will be the stopgap at point guard. This trade will give the Wiz cap flexibility as Monroe and MCW could become free agents.
These are all speculative trades if Wall does decide to seek greener pastures. The onus is on new Wiz Coach Scott Brooks to prevent that.