John Wall On Him Sitting Out Games: Says He’s Getting Punished For Something He Can’t Control

[Thabo Sefolosha]

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[KembaWalker]

if he wants to play i'm sure the Rockets would be open to buyout negotiations

[magee]

Tillman Fertita's cheap ass will not pay him to play elsewhere. He should be playing if he's healthy, period. If he wants out and is refusing to play, he's not honoring his contract and they can withhold money. If he wants to play and is healthy, the only way to see where he's at is to play him. They need him right now, too.

[Duke4life831]

I honestly just thought he was hurt.

So the situation is he wants to play and is healthy, but Houston just isn’t playing him? If that is the case, what is Houston plan then? I’m sure Wall isn’t going to opt out of his final year next year. So they plan on just sitting him for 2 straight seasons?

[MotownMadness]

I thought they were in a agreement not to play like Blake and Detroit. We bought Blake out with a season and half left though and they need to do the same if this is where both sides are at.

Then he can at least go finish out the year with a playoff team somewhere.

[dlts20]

Wall wants to play but sitting out is best for him. He's getting healthy and he doesn't mesh with Silas. None of the guards do which is why their young backcourt is shooting in the low 30s on fg percentage. Again, the problem is that Silas does not demand people to actually set picks. All of their bigs/players all slip the picks so the guards never get an advantage and then it forces them into an iso play or just pass around the perimeter to another covered player. Wall shouldn't want to play for him. It's just going to hurt his value. Just wait until he's fired

[Gramercy Riffs]

Why not play him? This is seriously just an overzealous tank job? They don't even owe their 1st round pick to anyone next draft. This makes no sense.

[JujitsuFlip]

He agreed to not play lol kinda similar situation to Love is in. They're these overpaid, getting old, injury prone guys. If either were willing to give up money, they could go play for contenders.

[hauntedcomputer]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

The pic is pretty racy and maybe NSFW depending on where you work, so I'm putting it under a spoiler. -b

[dlts20]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

The money is the money but dudes still want to play.

[bisme37]

I honestly just thought he was hurt.

So the situation is he wants to play and is healthy, but Houston just isn’t playing him? If that is the case, what is Houston plan then? I’m sure Wall isn’t going to opt out of his final year next year. So they plan on just sitting him for 2 straight seasons?

Yeah I thought he was hurt too until the Celtics played Houston the other night and they reported that he had an "agreement" with the team to not play and just be a mentor. The report made it sound like both sides agreed and were cool with it, but that doesn't seem to be Wall's take. Weird situation with two more years on his deal as you pointed out.

[bbalnation]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

[Cubbies2120]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Yet the Spurs got fined for resting healthy players...as have other teams...so, what's the deal here?

[bbalnation]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Yet the Spurs got fined for resting healthy players...as have other teams...so, what's the deal here?

Context. The reason they benched players.

I actually provided it so we could avoid this back and forth, but meh.

[TheNewEra]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Yet the Spurs got fined for resting healthy players...as have other teams...so, what's the deal here?

Wall has a strong enough injury history that he probably has some aches and pains the team can right off as legit dnp. Also watching his team lose so much on the bench I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s taking a toll and guys are complaining for him to help.

[JujitsuFlip]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Except he agreed to sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. The face he's not able to play may be questionable but he was fine with it, hence why he agreed to it.

[ropjhk]

If he's healthy then he should be playing. He's obviously better than perhaps any other player on the Rockets. You can't build up his trade value if he doesn't play.

[Cubbies2120]

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Yet the Spurs got fined for resting healthy players...as have other teams...so, what's the deal here?

Context. The reason they benched players.

I actually provided it so we could avoid this back and forth, but meh.

I'm not attacking your point - I'm saying it's interesting that the Spurs rested players, they were fined and people supported it because "People pay to see the stars, not the role players". Well, for the Rockets have one widely recognized superstar (Wall) and are resting him when he's clearly able to play. The narrative has changed.

To the Spurs, a team that was at the time competing for a championship, a regular season game was meaningless.

[bbalnation]

Please someone punish me by paying me $40 million a year to sit at home. Please. Hurt me like this.

Spoiler:

Not sure how you think employment works in your world.

Hes being paid to play basketball, not sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. Hes better than the players that are playing in front of him. The fact hes not able to play at ALL is questionable at best.

Except he agreed to sit on the bench meaninginglessly, in meaningless games. The face he's not able to play may be questionable but he was fine with it, hence why he agreed to it.

Clearly hes not fine with it, hes complaining about it on social media. It's not like he was given many options? If he complained about it, especially with the Ben Simmons saga going on, it wouldn't look so great. People would tell him to take a buyout if he wanted to play, which is absurd.

My speculation is that John has gone to the Rockets and asked to play. Im not sure from what point. They've rejected his attempt to play basketball: fulfill his contractual obligations.

My speculation is based off the tweet... hes saying he wants to play. If he can't be traded (which hes accepted), and he can't be bought out for the amount he want (which hes accepted), then he wants to play the sport he loves and showcase his talent (whether to increase his value or prove the haters wrong: there are so many incentives for him to play right now versus sitting on the bench).

You can call me speculative. But hes expressed his frustration and displeasure. Thats how I read the situation, with the facts that are in front of us right now. When John leaves Houston, whether via trade or contract expiration/buyout, well learn more if he wants to share.

[BoatsNZones]

A lot of politicking in the current NBA due to a lot of money in the current NBA. I predict a potentially very long lockout (and/or strike) during the next CBA after the 2024 season. Both sides have a lot to figure out.