John Wall Rumors: Clippers, Heat Among Interested Teams If PG Becomes Free Agent

The Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are both interested in veteran point guard John Wall should he become a free agent, according to an NBA reporter.

Wall has not appeared in a game for the Houston Rockets this season after agreeing to sit out while they sought a trade. There has been no trade at this point.

The issue with trading Wall is his huge contract. He has a player option of $47.4 million next season that he will almost certainly exercise.

In Wall's prime, teams would have considered taking on such a high salary. Over the past five seasons, Wall has played in just 113 games and missed the entire season with a torn Achilles.

He averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game when he returned for the 2020-21 campaign, shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from three. Solid numbers, but not the kind of production worthy of his salary.

Wall would leave a huge amount of money on the table if he agreed to a buyout with the Rockets.

For instance, when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, he gave up a lot of money to move on from the Detroit Pistons.

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Sources: Blake Griffin gave back $13.3 million in his buyout with the Pistons. He had $75M on his deal for this season and 2021-22. The six-time All-Star will clear waivers on Sunday and the Brooklyn Nets are the leaders to sign him.

The other option for Wall would be sitting out the rest of the season, declining his player option and becoming a free agent. It seems very unlikely that Wall would get close to the amount of money he is owed on that option. He would be giving up a lot more money going that route than he would be giving up for a buyout.

Wall would make sense for each team. The Clippers are without superstars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard due to injuries. It makes sense for the Clippers to get any help they can get.

The Heat already have Kyle Lowry running the point and could theoretically pair with Wall in the backcourt, though he has shown an ability to play off the ball throughout his career.

That could mean moving Duncan Robinson to the bench or persuading Wall to run the second unit as a backup point guard. It would be another compromise for Wall, who would likely be eating a lot of money in a buyout.

It might be a sacrifice to get back on the court with a contender.