Wiz of Awes
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John Walls Road to Recovery

By Jack Skolnik

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 30: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards looks on against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 30, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 30: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards looks on against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 30, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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A few days after the Wizards were denied a Designated Player Exception for All-Star Point Guard John Wall, a few videos from Mondays practice may explain why.

Over the summer prior to the season beginning, the Washington Wizards applied for a Designated Player Exception for point guard John Wall who tore his Achilles in February.

The player exception for Wall was worth roughly 9.2 million dollars in which the Wizards could then use as extra cap space in a trade or free agency. In order to be awarded this exception, a doctor would need to evaluate Walls injured achilles and rule that at the VERY least, he would miss the entire 2019-2020 season.

On Thursday however, we found out from NBA oracle Shams Charania, that the Wizards would not be granted this exception.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, this should not come as too much of a surprise. Walls injury occurred in February 2019 and according to the exception guidelines he would have to be physically unable to play until after June 2020, which would put his injury timeline around16 months. The typical timeline for a torn Achilles in the NBA is about 12 months, so barring any serious hitches in Walls recovery, again, this should not be all that surprising.

A few days after this announcement was made, we had a new development in regard to John Wall and his recovery. Videos of him surfaced on Monday from The Washington Post’s Candace Buckner and NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes, in which Wall was seen participating in shooting and condition drills.

After seeing these videos, the exception being denied just keeps making more sense. John looks like he is in a good place in his recovery, and seeing him participate in workouts should be very encouraging for Wizards fans.

Will John Wall play this season?

Based on his recovery timeline, Wall has the potential to be just about ready to go right around the all-star break. However, the more specific question is, will the Wizards play him if healthy?

Washington is clearly in a rebuilding year where they want to let their youth develop and work on their game. Youth and development this year may lead to a lottery pick in 2020. Does playing Wall affect those outcomes? Do they want to save Wall for the 2020 season to see if they can compete for a playoff spot? These are all things that will come into question as the season progresses.

As Wall works towards his return, he may not be the player he once was, however getting back a top point guard in the NBA at even 75% of what he was, will benefit everyone involved moving forward.

Don’t Forget

After battling through injuries the past few years and signing a huge super-max contract in 2017, some people have lost sight as to what John Wall once was, and what he can still be on the court.

Before the injuries, Wall was a walking double-double making his teammates better on both ends of the floor. He has been one of the best passers in the NBA and is one of the fastest players with the ball in his hands. Even with an achilles injury, Walls’s speed in the video above looks promising.

As the #1 option for D.C. he led the Wizards to the playoffs multiple times including their first division title in almost 40 years in 2017. That same season, Wall averaged 23.1 ppg, 10.7 apg, and 2.0 spg where he was named third-team All-NBA while finishing 7th in MVP voting.

The Return

As Wall continues to rehab, there are a lot of question marks surrounding what the franchise’s plans are. Moving forward, Wall will have to buy into the Wizards new philosophy and will most likely have to take a backseat to current franchise star, Bradley Beal. With this on the horizon, there have been no indications of Wall being opposed to any potential situations that would find him in the backseat to Beal.

With a healthy John Wall, regardless of the salary or what NBA twitter wants you to think, this Wizards team will see an improvement. Tommy Sheppard and the rest of the front office will now monitor John’s recovery to an acute detail and will decide what is best for the team both this season and in the future. As the season progresses and wins and losses accumulate, the return of the Wall-Star will be a notable headline around the league until we see #2 back on the hardwood.

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