NBA Rumors: John Wall Trade Might Be Wizards’ Only ‘Get-Out-Of-Jail Card,’ According To ‘ESPN’ Analyst

John Wall and the Washington Wizards entered the 2018-19 NBA season with the goal of fully dominating the Eastern Conference. Now that LeBron James is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ four-year reign is expected to come to an end and the Eastern Conference could have a new representative in the NBA Finals 2019.

Aside from retaining the explosive backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards have made several additions to their roster, including Dwight Howard, Austin Rivers, Jeff Green, and Thomas Bryant. Unfortunately, as of now, the Wizards don’t look like a team who are aspiring to win the 2019 NBA championship title. The Wizards are struggling earlier in the 2018-19 NBA season, sitting on the 14th spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-7 record.

If they want to end their struggle, some people believe that the Wizards should consider a major roster shakeup. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, trading the face of the franchise, John Wall, might be the Wizards’ only “get-out-of-jail card,” but moving him won’t be as easy as most people think.

“A Wall deal before July 1 is unlikely in part due to complexities surrounding his 15 percent trade kicker — believed to be the first trade kicker that would be spread over the length of a supermax contract. Trade kickers cannot lift a player’s salary above his maximum in the year he is traded, meaning Wall’s payout could shrink if the Wizards trade him in 2019-20 once he shifts onto his supermax deal — and perhaps close to $0 in that 2019-20 season, sources say. If they trade him before then, they might owe him a giant lump sum, sources say.”

Sunday's win over NYK started a stretch of 7 straight games against sub.-500 teams for Washington. How the Wiz arrived at place where that Knicks game felt like a must-win, and what happens now: https://t.co/PXcCKKc5qN

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) November 6, 2018

The outcome of the 2018-19 NBA season is expected to play a major role in the Wizards’ decision to trade John Wall or not. Once Wall becomes officially available on the trading block, one of the NBA teams who could express strong interest in acquiring him is the Phoenix Suns. Since losing Brandon Knight in a trade with the Houston Rockets, the Suns have been active on the trade market, searching for a starting caliber point guard.

Before signing a massive contract extension, Devin Booker urged the Suns to be more aggressive in adding quality players who can help them compete for the NBA championship title. The potential acquisition of John Wall will help the Suns form their own “Big Three” with Booker and DeAndre Ayton. The Suns currently have a plethora of trade assets to engage in a blockbuster deal. The combination of young players and draft picks could be enough to convince the Wizards to send Wall to Phoenix.