The Washington Wizards should get John Wall on the court this season, and it has nothing to do with making the playoffs.
The word from the Washington Wizards and John Wall, alike, has been consistent: we won’t be seeing him return to action this NBA season. The Wizards have said since before the season began that they’re in no rush to bring Wall back and have no issue if he misses the entire season. The point guard has been sidelined since December 2018 after rupturing his Achilles while rehabbing from a previous Achilles procedure.
Making sure Wall is healthy before he returns is the priority number one as it should be. And while John Wall has been setting Twitter ablaze with mere pregame dunks all season long, he insists that he’s still not where he wants to be in order to return to the court.
Of course, Wall should not come back until he is absolutely comfortable and cleared to do so. The Wizards can’t afford to rush him back before he’s ready at the risk of another injury. He’s too valuable, and his paychecks are too big, for that to happen again.
But there are only so many full-speed practices and pregame dunk package displays we can see before it becomes apparent that Wall is at least close to a return. Assuming he can get all the way back, the WIzards need to give John Wall some minutes in late-season games.
With a murderous March schedule coming up and the razor-thin playoff chances getting even thinner with every additional loss, the Wizards will probably be playing for next year before too long. And next year will be all about John Wall.
Actually the Wizards should be more inclined to play Wall after they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs, not in order to propel them there. And here’s why—four reasons the Washington Wizards should bring back John Wall this season.
It’s Been Too Long
Maybe it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since we’ve seen John Wall. With all the workout and practice videos, or just the constant back and forths about how the Wizards should handle his rehab, maybe we’ve forgotten how long it has been. But it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen John Wall play. And it’ll only be longer if we wait until the start of next season.
The last time John Wall played a basketball game, Anthony Davis was a Pelican, Paul George was in Oklahoma City, Kawhi Leonard was north of the border, and Ja Morant was still relatively unknown. The NBA landscape has changed. A lot.
Right now, we are more than 14 months removed from John Wall’s last NBA game. If he doesn’t play until the start of next season, October 2020, then he’ll have a 22-month gap between NBA games. That’s almost two full years off. We saw what a few months off did to defensive stud Andre Iguodala. Trae Young had him falling over in his return, and Iguodala was out for less than a full season, with no injury rehab to do.
While it’s no guarantee that so much time off has wrecked Wall’s game (it almost certainly hasn’t), the time off definitely affected Wall’s game.
Assuming Wall’s healthy and the Wizards are out of the playoff race, the end of the season will be a perfect time to get back in the swing of NBA action, void of any real pressure or expectations.
It’ll be tough to hold Wall back or limit his role given how competitive he really is, so inserting him into a playoff push, and possibly a playoff series, with the amount of rust he’ll have seems like the wrong idea. Instead, wait until the focus is back on the lottery, and let Wall ease back into it with largely meaningless minutes.
Need To Build Chemistry
John Wall is a special point guard and can orchestrate an offense regardless of who he’s surrounded by. But having some familiarity with the guys he’s running the floor with would definitely help.
Although Wall has been a face of the franchise in D.C. for the entirety of his ten-season NBA career, he’ll return to the court with a roster full of guys he’s mostly never played NBA minutes with.
The only players currently under contract for next year with whom Wall has played multiple NBA games are Bradley Beal, Thomas Bryant, and Troy Brown Jr.
Wall has never played a single NBA minute with Rui Hachimura. He’s never hit Davis Bertans on the wing for an open three. He’s never run a pick and roll with Moritz Wagner. At least not in live NBA action.
That’ not to say he can’t. Wall should master those skills pretty quickly with his new teammates once he returns. But why not start mastering them towards the end of this season and avoid any early season frustrations that might come with increased expectations and lingering rust.
Plus, the Beal would certainly appreciate a Wall return this season. It’s no secret that Beal’s been frustrated multiple times as he carries the entire team with herculean scoring efforts only to come up short at the final buzzer. If Beal could get his backcourt mate back for the end of the season, it could end an otherwise sour campaign on a sweet note.
Plus, Beal has evolved into a whole different beast since the last time Wall shared the court with him. How will the two coexist now that Beal’s gotten a taste of being the playmaker Wall always has been.
Reminding Beal that he’s not alone out there could go along way in keeping him happy as he gets ready for a summer in which his name will once again be the center of trade rumors.
Their Future Depends On It
A lot of what the Wizards will do this offseason and what they’ll prioritize moving forward will be done under the impression that John Wall will come back and at least be decent. But given the nature of his injury and how we’ve seen guys return – or not return – from similar stints on the sideline, it shouldn’t be such a foregone conclusion that a Wall return will definitely and immediately raise this team to playoff contention.
Shouldn’t we have some inclination that that’s the case, or at least that he’s heading in the right direction?
The Wizards will enter this offseason with Bradley Beal, John Wall, and Rui Hachimura as obvious parts of the future plan. Hopefully, they can hold onto Davis Beratns. But beyond that, it doesn’t seem like the team is completely committed to anyone. And with a stockpile of guys 23 years old or younger, they have some attractive assets they could move this summer if they so pleased.
However, with so much of this team’s future riding on how Wall comes back and what type of player he is post-injury, the Wizards would benefit by seeing how Wall is playing with those possible new teammates before heading into this offseason.
Will Ish Smith still be the best backup option? Or could Shabazz Napier do the job at a cheaper price, making the final year of Smtih’s deal dispensible? Does he pair better with Bryant or Wagner? And does how Wall looks in his return affect their draft strategy at all?
Now ten meaningless games of a rusty John Wall probably won’t give us all the answers for a full evaluation of how he fits with these new faces heading into free agency, but it could provide some much-needed insight.
I Miss You, John Wall
John Wall should play this season – IF HE’S HEALTHY – because, well, I just miss watching the Wizards with John Wall running the point.
Don’t get me wrong; this year’s team has been a fun bunch to watch. From the insane scoring frenzies to the Philadelphia frosty incident to Beal’s otherworldly dominance against nearly every foe, there’s been plenty of entertainment during this season even if there haven’t been plenty of wins.
But it’s just not the same without John Wall. At his height, Wall was one of the NBA’s most electrifying players, and one of the greatest this franchise has ever seen. Injuries have robbed us of what certainly would have been sensational seasons during Wall’s prime. Now, all we can do is wait for the city’s point god to return.
Selfishly, I’m growing a little impatient. I miss the chase-down blocks, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it drives to the rim, the dancing. I miss it all. And if I have to wait until October to see it again, I will. But I’d rather see it, even if only a glimpse of it, in a month or so IF he’s healthy, of course.
Wouldn’t you?