pcbothwel wrote:Assuming... key word. Assuming Wall has his diet and conditioning in order (appears so) and his knee injuries are no longer a constant issue, then you have to take that into consideration.
I'm sort of in the middle here. I don't think Wall is going to consistently be a great player like he once was but I do think he stands a reasonable chance of being a quality rotation player.
The thing is, I'm not sure why anyone would assume this. Assume the best possible case scenario that there really isn't any evidence to suggest is the case and then argue you have to take that into consideration? Diet and conditioning when you're not playing is an entirely different ballgame than when you're playing 82 games a year plus practices. Torn ACLs don't magically change a player's conditioning habits and I'm not sure I can ever think of a situation where that was the case. And suddenly expecting him to be a better shooter? I just can't see it. As he ages and recovers from injuries, his athleticism is going to decline slowly and as that happens it's going to be harder for him to get his shot off in the first place even if he finds a way to improve his consistency when he does.
I think it's possible Wall comes back but in a slightly more constrained role, not totally unlike how Derrick Rose has. If he's willing to not quite push his limits the same way and focus on doing what he can to the best of his ability, he can help a team win, though the kind of recovery from serious injuries like this is severe and often takes a season or more for the player to fully recover. Hayward took a while in Boston. Rose took a long time. Oladipo right now is really struggling. This isn't going to be an immediate and smooth transition.
And even if Wall does come back strong, finding another PG as a succession plan is definitely a good idea. PGs on the wrong side of 30 that rely on speed and athleticism with long injury histories that are coming off missing an entire season due to injury tend not to have the longest shelf lives out there. The team would be well served to find someone to be ready to go when Rui, Bonga, Brown, Bryant, Wagner, etc. are all ready to go.