Washington Wizards Mailbag: Determining John Wall's Trade Value

Washington Wizards Mailbag: If the Wizards wanted to hit the reset button and trade John Wall, what could they get in return for the All-Star?

We usually start the week off by answering some of your questions for Mailbag Monday, but life got in the way. We’ll switch things up a bit and end the week with your questions.

Currently, the Washington Wizards are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-11 record.

They’ll take on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Washington hasn’t beaten the Spurs away from home since 1999.

As always, thanks for submitting questions. Happy Friday.

There’s no secret to filling up a stadium. People like watching their hometown teams win. When their hometown team is losing, like the Washington Wizards are, the fans have no incentive to actually go to the Verizon Center, especially now that it’s getting chilly outside.

Fans can either choose to watch their teams lose for free in the comfort of their own homes or pay to watch them lose live. The result will still be disappointing, so why not stay home and relax?

The teams you mentioned all have successful histories.

The Spurs, Celtics, Lakers and Warriors were or are winning teams. The Knicks are an anomaly because they play in the world’s most famous arena. People are going to watch their games because they’re the Knicks.

Washington has to win games. Losing teams will have a difficult time packing stadiums when the team isn’t exciting or winning games.

What’s the point of getting frustrated in traffic if the team will lose? You might as well stay at home.

Do you love this person? Is she going to be the mother of your kids? Are you broke?

Take those questions into consideration. If you love the person, cop gifts for her birthday and Christmas. If you’re broke and she knows it, I’m sure she’ll understand if you skip Christmas this year.

Most importantly, do something creative for her. Get some strawberries at the grocery store, melt chocolate and make some dope dessert. Creativity trumps cost. It’s not always about buying the most expensive gifts.

Or, just get her a Tomas Satoransky jersey.

John Wall is averaging 9.3 assists per game, which isn’t even an assist less than he averaged last year.

But, he’s shooting a career-high 18.4 shots per game.

He’s been forced to carry the offensive load even more than he did in the past. Washington didn’t add a scorer in the off-season and Wall is shooting the ball at a high rate. To quote the great Jordan Crawford, “who else gon’ shoot?”

The only real offensive threat Wall has on the team is Bradley Beal. Everyone else is rather inconsistent.

Markieff Morris and Otto Porter are capable of scoring, but neither are go-to options and produce buckets on a rather an inconsistent basis. Marcin Gortat is only reliable in the pick-and-roll. It’s not like Wall can toss the ball to him inside and expect a bucket.

And for the bench, well, that’s been a complete disaster.

Washington lacks scorers, so that’s why Wall is averaging less assists and more shot attempts. Surprisingly, he’s still dishing out over 9 assists per game.

Wall is putting up a career-high 22.6 points per game and he’s arguably having the best season of his career. He still has two years left on his current deal too, which is a complete steal nowadays. He’ll make slightly more than $18 million next season. He’s essentially getting paid as much as Evan Turner, who’ll make just less than $18 million in 2018.

He has a ton of value. He’s only 26, playing the best basketball of his career and is on a bargain of a contract.

Washington would want multiple young assets and a few first round picks in exchange for him. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but we have to assume that the Washington Wizards would rebuild if Wall is dealt.

Here’s a hypothetical deal that was floated around on bogus rumor sites:

Financially, the deal would have to be worked out, but it’s something that Washington would have to at least consider if they want to hit the reset button.

Mudiay is a developing guard with similar traits as Wall. He’s quick, explosive and has world-class court vision. Nurkic is one of the best young bigs in the league. The first round picks would allow Washington to add more young pieces to their roster in the draft.

Again – let’s hope that doesn’t happen, though.

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