Rockets guard John Wall, who has sat out the entire season to date, has reportedly become a key figure in the seemingly uncertain future of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to a recent report by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, James was pushing Lakers brass to send point guard Russell Westbrook back to the Rockets in exchange for Wall prior to this month's NBA trade deadline. The proposed swap was previously reported by NBA insider Marc Stein.
A deal never materialized, and now the James-Lakers relationship is "at it lowest point," per Pincus, with James seemingly going out of his way over All-Star weekend to praise a rival GM, Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder, as "pretty darn good" and "the real MVP over there," while also indicating he was unsure of his future plans.
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With the game being held at Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland, James was asked about a potential third stint with the Cavaliers, which he didn't rule out, but he also said his primary goal was to play one season -- his final season -- in the NBA alongside his son Bronny, who is finishing up his junior year of high school in California.
The four-time NBA MVP is on the books with the Lakers for one more season after this one, with a decision looming this offseason on an extension that would keep him in Los Angeles for 2023-24 as well. If it's not picked up, LeBron could be in limbo for one year before Bronny's soonest draft-eligibility, in 2024. Pincus, citing a polling of executives, says Bronny currently projects as a second-round draft pick.
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka refused to pull the trigger on the potential Westbrook-for-Wall swap, according to Pincus, because he didn't see the move as a clear improvement.
James was looking to shake up the aging, injury-plagued Lakers roster, Pincus wrote, and apparently set his sights on Wall at least in part because he is a fellow client of Klutch Sports Group, headed up by James' longtime agent Rich Paul.
James and Paul saw the proposed swap as a way to "undo the Westbrook mistake," per Pincus, which came about last offseason after James and Westbrook decided to team up in Los Angeles. At the time of the Westbrook deal, Pelinka was closing in on a trade for then-Kings guard Buddy Hield, according to Pincus, but he was made to pivot to Westbrook.
Wall and Westbrook were previously traded for each other in December 2020, when Westbrook was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Wall following the tearing down of the James Harden-era Rockets.
Wall, now 31, played in 40 games for the Rockets last season, but the former No. 1 overall draft pick has sat out all of this season to date, with Houston opting to develop younger players amid its post-Harden rebuild. Wall has been present on the bench for Rockets games.
Both Wall and Westbrook have player options for next season at around $47 million, the Houston Chronicle reported, and both players are likely to exercise them.
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