John Wall Rumors: Timberwolves Were Interested in Adding Star Before Joining Clippers
The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly showed some interest in veteran guard John Wall during the offseason before he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Darren Wolfson of KSTP in Minnesota appeared Thursday on SKOR North (h/t HoopsHype.com) and discussed the T-Wolves' thought process while considering the possibility of signing Wall:
Wolfson noted that the Timberwolves "kicked the tires" on Wall while deciding whether they wanted to keep guard D'Angelo Russell in the fold. Minnesota ultimately retained Russell and passed on Wall.
Wall was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, and in his nine seasons with the Wizards, he was a five-time All-Star.
After missing most of the 2018-19 season and all of the 2019-20 season because of a torn Achilles, Wall was traded to the Houston Rockets, along with a first-round pick, for guard Russell Westbrook.
Wall appeared in 40 games for the Rockets in 2020-21 before a hamstring injury cost him the rest of the season, and he and the Rockets then mutually agreed that he would not play in 2021-22.
The Rockets bought out the remainder of Wall's contract, and the 32-year-old veteran signed a two-year contract with the Clippers in free agency, although a club option is attached to the 2023-24 campaign.
While Wall is currently out with an abdominal strain, he has appeared in 34 games this season, starting two of them. As primarily a bench player, he is averaging career lows across the board with 11.4 points, 5.2 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.
Wall is only tied for eighth on the Clippers in minutes per game, as he has had to share a crowded backcourt with Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Luke Kennard, among others.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last week that because of the Clippers' quality backcourt depth, they have dangled Wall in potential trades for frontcourt help.
Although the Timberwolves did not sign Wall during the offseason, they were still active, as they acquired perennial All-Star center Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz for four first-round picks, one first-round pick swap, Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley and Leandro Bolmaro.
Gobert has not been as productive as usual, and with fellow All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns missing significant time with a knee injury, the Timberwolves are a disappointing ninth in the Western Conference at 25-25.
Given how bunched up the West is, however, Minnesota is just 1.5 games out of fourth place, meaning it could be active leading up to the trade deadline.
The Timberwolves' backcourt is occupied by leading scorer Anthony Edwards and Russell, who is averaging 17.6 points and 6.2 assists per game this season. If Minnesota deals Russell before the Feb. 9 deadline for future assets or potential wing help, circling back to Wall could still be an option.
