Sixers: Making the case for John Wall trade

With John Wall and the Houston Rockets agreeing to mutually part ways, the media has been trying to link Wall to the Sixers. The overwhelming sentiment in the City of Brotherly Love is a hard pass on a Wall trade and I lean that way also. However, let me play devil’s advocate and make the case for Wall.

The real case for Wall starts and ends with Ben Simmons. Adrian Wojnarowski just doubled down on Keith Pompey’s report from a few weeks that Simmons will not report to training camp and is prepared for a lengthy holdout this upcoming season.

Even though we as Philadelphia fans knew of this probability, the recirculation of the story only adds pressure on the Philadelphia 76ers front office. So if a move needs to happen, John Wall could be a  reasonable deal.

The Sixers could benefit from John Wall’s productivity.

Wall is a veteran point guard with playoff experience who averaged 21 points, seven assists, and three rebounds per game last year. It is worth noting he did this after coming off an almost two-year playing hiatus due to injury and while playing for a rebuilding Houston Rockets team. Even though it feels like Wall is old, he is only 31 and I believe he has a lot of basketball left in him, especially if he finds the right team.

Now clearly the colossal issue with Wall is his contract. He has two years and over $90 million dollars remaining on his contract and the second year is a player option. It would be idiotic for Wall to decline the last year of that contract which will pay him $47 million, but he might be more open to buyout discussions one year in the future.

The John Wall trade may currently be the best offer for the Sixers, but as stated at the beginning of the article, I am not sold on it. The fact of the matter is the Simmons news story being pushed to the forefront of the NBA again has me open to more trade options. Does Wall have some good basketball left in him? Is his ceiling higher than the other players being discussed in trade talks with the Sixers? Can he co-exist with Joel Embiid?

These are the questions that the front office would have to answer before taking a risk on John Wall. If Simmons holdout goes deep into training camp and it is drama-filled, check back with me. Then, I might be able to convince myself that the troublesome contract issues of Wall don’t outweigh Simmons being on the team.