With John Wall and the Rockets reaching a buyout agreement, the point guard should have several suitors as a member of the 2022 free-agent class.
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The Clippers and Heat have long been linked to Wall and longtime NBA journalist Marc Stein (via Substack) hears that Los Angeles remains in the mix for the former Wizards star.
Wall is giving back approximately $7 million of his $47.4 million salary to hit the free-agent market, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports relays. That’s a key number, as it falls within the league’s projected mid-level exception and it could foreshadow the type of deal that Wall is expecting to receive on the open market.
Wall clocks in at No. 12 on our Top 48 Free Agent list, slightly ahead of Malik Monk and Gary Payton II.
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- Rival teams are not optimist about being able to lure Kevon Looney away from the Warriors this offseason, Stein reports in the same article. Looney is expected to re-sign with Golden State on a multi-year deal once the free agency window opens later this week.
- Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News hears that Kyrie Irving was unable to find a sign-and-trade with a suitor he preferred, which brought him back to his player option with the Nets. Brooklyn had reportedly given Irving the option to find a sign-and-trade and the Lakers were reportedly the only team to have significant interest in a deal. It was previously reported that the Heat were among the teams that may have had an interest in Irving but weren’t willing to part with major assets to acquire him.
- The Rockets fielded calls for the No. 17 pick on draft night and if Tari Eason had not been available, the franchise might have been more willing to move the selection, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes in a piece that also touches on Houston staying pat at the No. 3 spot. The team ultimately selected Jabari Smith Jr., who unexpectedly fell to them, with their top-3 selection. In addition to Smith and Eason, the Rockets also grabbed another SEC player in Tyty Washington. “You talk to everybody about everything, but we always felt comfortable picking where we were picking and were really excited.” GM Rafael Stone explained.
- In the same piece, Iko notes that the Rockets continue to value Eric Gordon very highly and aren’t desperate to move him. The Sixers were among the teams aiming to trade for Gordon leading up to the draft.
