Getty Washington Wizards guard John Wall and coach Scott Brooks
The Washington Wizards are in the midst of contemplating a roster overhaul and trading stars like John Wall and Bradley Beal, but it seems there may be more to the story. While there have been talks of Wall, Beal, Otto Porter, and virtually any other Wizards player being on the trade block, much of it may stem from an issue going on behind closed doors.
On the Stephen A. Smith Show Monday, the ESPN analyst read a message directly from a Wizards player which related to Wall and his relationship with head coach Scott Brooks. And to put it gently, it was pretty revealing.
“Now let me read you something that somebody in the Wizards locker room wrote about John Wall. ‘We love Scott Brooks, love playing for him, he just can’t coach John … John just walks all over him and it frustrates everybody. The way he plays is impossible to play with. We have so many guns, not enough bullets. If John would just play off the ball and let others eat, we’d be fine. But that’s a difficult thing for him to do and sometimes it’s difficult for us to watch.'” Stephen A. Smith stated.
This is an eye-opening bit of news from Smith, who’s been known to drop plenty of big pieces of info over the years from inside NBA locker rooms. It seems the team’s struggles may go beyond what’s seen on the surface, and this points to Wall being a part of the issue for a variety of reasons.
Potential for John Wall Trade
One big issue that’s been brought to light about any potential deal to send Wall out of Washington is his contract. The All-Star guard has a big cap hit over the upcoming seasons, starting at $37.8 million next year and going up progressively over a four-year span to $46.872 million, per Spotrac.
There’s no clear-cut landing spot for Wall that’s been established yet either, although a few teams would make sense. Regardless, the issues within the Wizards organization have opened more than a few eyes in recent days, and it wouldn’t be surprising if sweeping changes come soon.
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