John Wall has already been ruled out of the NBA’s restart. The Washington Wizards guard is still rehabbing a torn Achilles injury he has dealt with since January 2019. However, Wall echoed Kyrie Irving’s concerns about the league’s plan to restart in Orlando.
Appearing on Caron Butler’s podcast The Tuff Juice, Wall said if he was healthy, he wouldn’t want to go play.
“For me, if I was playing, I wouldn’t want to go to it, to be honest. I just don’t feel like it’s safe. I just don’t feel like it is. I understand why they want to do it and what they’re trying to get to, but I wouldn’t want to.”
John Wall said per Chase Hughes/ NBC Sports Washington
The Wizards have been invited in the NBA’s 22-team restart. They currently sit 5.5 games behind the Orlando Magic for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. For Washington to make the postseason, they’d have to pull within four games of the 8th seed and beat that team twice consecutively to reach the playoffs.
Those what if’s wouldn’t be enough for Wall to risk his health from the coronavirus and re-injuring his Achilles.
“If I was healthy enough to play, I wouldn’t want to go play. What am I going, just to play eight games? I’m not going for just eight games and then coming back home.”
John Wall
Despite all indications pointing to the NBA going through with the restart, there is a growing concern about the safety of players going into a bubble in Orlando. Irving has been the catalyst of a coalition expressing concerns as well as wanting to keep the focus on the Black Lives Matter movement following the death George Floyd.
Wall understands Irving’s stance.
“Kyrie has his things where he be in his own world… ‘The Earth is flat,’ but to be honest, I think he has a point. A lot of people feel that way. I think that’s why they tried to get on that call to see how many people really want to go play and how many people don’t want to play. Because with all this ‘Black Lives Matter’ going on and protesting and trying to get justice and all that; a lot of people feel like it’s not safe to go there. That’s what he stands on.”
John Wall continued
Injury will keep Wall from traveling to Orlando. So, his doubts about playing may not carry the same weight as if he was set to play. However, Portland Trailblazers’ All-Star guard Damian Lillard has expressed similar concerns, as the Trail Blazers are in a similar standing in the Western Conference as the Wizards.
The league is planning to restart July 31. But, a portion of the players are waiting to hear plans surrounding many factors surrounding their safety that go into playing out the season. Additionally, they trying to keep the spotlight on social reform.
That’s where Irving has entered and led the conversation going against the establishment to say the least. Wall’s statements about the restart have echoed his on-court rival.
