Washington Wizards: 3 Offseason regrets the Wizards are feeling now
By Ethan Smith
Regret #2) Trading John Wall for Russell Westbrook
The Washington Wizards are 2-13 when Russell Westbrook plays this season. They’re 4-3 when he doesn’t.
Is this the Ewing Theory happening right in front of our eyes? Well, considering Beal is the team’s best player, no. And it would be unfair to place all the blame on Westbrook. There are plenty of reasons that this team continues to lose. But the fact that they’re actually winning more games without their blockbuster trade acquisition cannot be ignored.
Especially when the man he was traded for — John Wall — seems to be faring a whole lot better in his new home. The Houston Rockets, despite all their early-season craziness, are just a couple of games below .500. When John Wall has played, the Rockets are 9-6. When John Wall hasn’t played, the Rockets are 2-7.
Individually, Wall looks more explosive than Westbrook, and his numbers are better, too. Although Westbrook is averaging more points, assists, and rebounds per game, Wall has a better turnover percentage and better true shooting percentage, which gives a better sense of how he’s running the offense in Houston vs. how Westbrook is doing it in D.C. Simply put, Wall is more effective and more efficient.
If Wall were still in Washington, I don’t think this team would be a contender. The Wizards may be 14th in the Eastern Conference standings, but the Rockets are 13th in the West. However, we’d definitely have seen better point guard play through these first 22 games if the Wizards still had Wall.
When this trade first went down, I wrote about how the Wizards had won the transaction. 22 games later, I was wrong.