John Wall is not happy with the way the Washington Wizards conducted their trade with the Houston Rockets. After giving his all to the team for more than a decade, Wall says he felt that the Wizards were not honest or respectful about his departure from the organization and that they were not outspoken about the possibility of him being moved.
“I said that all I ever wanted from the beginning was honesty. Do you know what I mean? Just tell me the truth, what it was. I can handle it,” said Wall in an interview with Fred Katz of The Athletic. “I felt I deserved honesty and respect because I’ve been there for 10 years. I’ve been through bad times, when we had shitty teams and when we had good teams in DC, I never turned my back on the organization.
“I played almost every injury that many people would not have suffered,” continued Wall. “I played with broken hands in the playoffs. I think I did everything I could and gave my heart and soul to the organization on and off the court.”
Despite general manager Tommy Sheppard publicly denying that the team had plans to change Wall in late November, the Wizards ended up negotiating the veteran with the Houston Rockets on December 2 in exchange for Russell Westbrook.
“Everyone kept saying to me, ‘No, it’s not true. Don’t believe it. Don’t believe it,'” Wall said of commercial speculation. “And I, I know that Houston probably called first. But it’s part of the deal. Why wouldn’t you call if someone wanted to be negotiated? Do you know what I mean? And it’s nothing, just talking. And that’s all I I wanted to. If you’re talking, fine, I understand. No one could tell me the truth about it. ”
Wall is happy in Houston, but the fact that he didn’t have the opportunity to play another season with teammate and friend Bradley Beal is something that left a bad taste in Wall’s mouth, especially considering how well Beal is playing this season . Beal currently leads the NBA with an average of 32.8 points per game in Sunday’s game against the Celtics.
“Goal # 1 is, you didn’t give me the opportunity for me and Brad to step back, as you said [would]”Said Wall.” That was [my] and our ultimate goal. It was, OK, let’s try it one more time. If it was only a year or two, we would try it again just to see. … And it’s crazy that we never did that. I don’t think they wanted to do that. I think they went ahead and did what they wanted, which is cool. But that was the most frustrating thing of all. Like, having the opportunity to run back with my brother and play with the guy, the level he is now. ”
Wall will return to Washington to play against the Wizards as a member of the Rockets for the first time on Monday night, and it is safe to say that he wants to leave with a victory.
“When I play with the Wizards, I want to win every time we play them,” said Wall. “Whenever you are negotiated by a team, you want to win every time you play against them, so that’s my ultimate goal.”
Wall may no longer be a member of the Wizards, but he certainly left his mark on the franchise. As it stands, Wall is Washington’s all-time leader in assists and steals, and he is fourth in terms of total points scored. When you combine your on-court production with your out-of-court impact on the community, it’s clear that Wall won’t be forgotten in Washington anytime soon.