When John Wall learned he was traded to the Houston Rockets, one of the first calls he made was to longtime teammate Bradley Beal. Wall said the two had an emotional exchange, “both of us were crying.”
For two years Wall worked and rehabbed from two Achilles injuries that included a complete rupture. Meanwhile, Beal developed into one of the NBA’s most lethal scorers during Wall’s absence. There was a great deal of anticipation for Wall to rejoin the much-improved Beal.
Unfortunately, by being traded to the Rockets ahead of the start of training camp for Russell Westbrook, a Wall-Beal on-court reunion turned into a mere what if. Wall wishes he got the opportunity go run it back with a tranformed Beal.
“The number one goal is, you didn’t give me the opportunity for me and Brad to run it back, like y’all said we (would),” Wall told Fred Katz of The Athletic. “That was (my) and our ultimate goal. It was, ‘OK, we’re gonna give it one more shot.’ If it’s just one year or two years, we were gonna give it one more shot just to see. … And it’s just crazy we never got to do that. I don’t think they wanted to do that. I think they moved forward and did whatever they wanted, which is cool. But that was the most frustrating thing than anything. Like, to have an opportunity to run it back with my brother and playing with the guy, the level he’s on now.”
During his rehab, Wall worked on adjusting his game to complement Beal. That included getting accustomed to playing off the ball, cutting, spacing on the floor and shooting more threes.
While he isn’t playing alongside Beal, his production this season shows the effort Wall put in. He is attempting a career-high 5.6 threes per game, while shooting a career-best 37.5% from beyond the arc. Additionally, he is averaging 19.5 points and 5.9 assists. Instead, he is trying to infuse his comeback after a two-year hiatus in a new place with a new team in Houston.
Monday Wall returns to Washington, DC to face the Wizards for the first time since the trade. It will surely be an emotional whirlwind for the five-time all-star who was the Wizards’ cornerstone player for a decade.
Wall is set out to make his former team regret trading. He had 24 points and five assists in their first meeting this season back on Jan. 26. in a 107-88 win for the Rockets. However, he still enjoys watching the Wizards and his former backcourt mate, Beal.
“Why wouldn’t I? I told everybody, I said, I still watch all their games. Who the hell wouldn’t wanna watch Bradley Beal?” Wall said. “The numbers he puts up, the way he plays, you wanna support that. Outside of being just my brother, he’s a hell of a basketball player. So, a fan would wanna enjoy that.”
