John Wall Rumors: Star 'Shocked' After Being Traded to Rockets from Wizards

Despite reports that he had made his desire to leave Washington known, John Wall was "shocked" to be dealt to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook, according to Chris Miller of NBC Sports.

"John, from my sourcing, is shocked," Miller said on the Wizards Talk podcast (at the 3:45 mark). "And he should be, because this is the first time that his name has ever been put into trade talks. He is the face of this franchise." 

Ava Wallace of the Washington Post reported in November that the 30-year-old "made it known" he wanted to leave the Wizards, who drafted him out of Kentucky with the first pick in the 2010 NBA draft. 

Wall's last NBA game was on Dec. 26, 2018, before he had season-ending surgery to fix bone spurs in his heel. But during his recovery, he ruptured his Achilles tendon when he fell at home, missing the 2019-20 campaign as well.

The point guard was also limited during the 2017-18 season when he had knee surgery, though he still earned a fifth consecutive All-Star selection. In his last full campaign (2016-17), Wall averaged career highs in points (23.1) and assists (10.7) while adding 4.2 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game over 78 games.

With the Rockets dealing one of their superstars in Westbrook, they will largely be relying on Wall to replicate his pre-injury success if they want to continue to be competitive—especially if they also lose James Harden, who is reportedly "focused on a trade to the Brooklyn Nets" (h/t ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski).