John Wall admits that facing Wizards is personal: ‘They thought I was over’

John Wall was asked at the weekend what it would be like to face the Wizards on Tuesday night for the first time since they traded him. He downplayed it a little, saying there would be more excitement when he returned to Washington in February.

Well, this is going to be hard to imagine, once you hear his extended thoughts on how to play against the Wizards on Tuesday, which he shared with Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington. Now with the Rockets, Wall admitted that facing the Wizards is personal after how his departure was handled, and that he is looking for revenge.

“Just seeing everyone there, a lot of people on that side who probably didn’t believe I could be the person I am again. And probably some people who had a little bit to say about me being negotiated,” Wall said Miller .

“I feel like it was a complete process and it wasn’t just something that happened overnight. I think it was underway. That’s my motivation. Who wouldn’t want to beat the team that switched them and felt it was over?”

Oh, there’s more. Much more, in fact. Wall made direct and indirect references to people and events that played a role in his departure.

Miller asked Wall at close range if Tuesday night’s game is personal and that’s when he went into detail.

Download and subscribe to the Wizards Talk Podcast

“I feel so. I definitely feel so because, I know I had my opinion and my responsibilities with what I did off the court and things I did. [did], but I confessed it. I apologized and that is the best I can do. Nobody is perfect. We all live and learn from our mistakes. I wish it never happened, but it did happen. I moved on from that. My idea was to go back and compete at a high level with a shirt that I only knew for 10 years, “said Wall, perhaps referring to the off-season video for which he apologized and which supposedly showed signs of gang at a party.

“I just wanted to know from the start and not have to go around to find things out. That’s just my motivation there. They thought I was done. Basically, that’s how I feel. This is my chance to show them “I haven’t finished yet. But the most important thing for me is winning. I don’t care how many numbers I have, it’s about getting the win. That’s the most important thing, because if I get 40 and lose, the exchange doesn’t seem too bad from the point from their point of view, because they beat us in that game they played with us. So my ultimate goal is to try to get a victory for my team tomorrow. “

Wall did not name any names, but he delved into how he felt the Wizards could have been more honest in the days leading up to the exchange, which sent Wall and a protected choice in the first round to Houston in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The deal took place on December 2, but the initial rumor was released a week earlier.

“More importantly, all I really wanted from the start was just to be told the truth. This is the most important thing and what made it so difficult for me to understand what was going on because I hadn’t been telling the truth. I understand that it is a business and things go on, people move on and you negotiate, organizations in different ways. When I heard the rumors, I called and asked if they were real or should they not be concerned? I heard was ‘no, these rumors are not true, don’t worry about it.’ In all reality, it was true, “said Wall.

Wall had never participated in trade rumors earlier in his career, so it is understandable that the experience was a shock. That said, it is not uncommon for organizations to keep participants engaged in negotiations out of these conversations. Perhaps Wall felt he deserved to know, but the wizards evidently wanted to keep their negotiations a secret, even from him.

We may never know the whole story from both sides, but what we do know is that Tuesday night just got more interesting.

Watch Chris Miller’s full interview with John Wall on Wizards Pregame Live Tuesday night. Coverage starts at 7 pm on NBC Sports Washington.