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Knicks

The career arc of John Wall has made yet another turn. After being traded to the Houston Rockets last offseason for Russell Westbrook, Wall is now set to join his third team in as many seasons. According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania, Wall and the Rockets&rsquo; front office have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/john-wall-houston-rockets-mutually-agree-to-work-out-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed upon him being active in training camp, but sitting out games as they try to move him</a>. It's the logical next step in a massive tear-down rebuild, which was put into motion with the James Harden blockbuster eight months ago to this day.
Wall was the salary-filler needed to move Westbrook &mdash; who was a part of another star backcourt combination that didn&rsquo;t work out alongside Harden &mdash; but the former has also has served a pivotal role to the current version of Houston&rsquo;s roster. As the veteran on a tanking team, Wall embraced his leadership role to its full extent, being a guiding voice for young prospects. Wall averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals last season in Houston.
However, following unfortunate injury luck related to a torn Achilles tendon, Wall simply doesn&rsquo;t look the same as he did in his prime years being the face of the Washington Wizards franchise. For years, Wall was the most electric point guard in the Association thanks to his quickness and explosiveness towards the basket. At 31 years old, Wall's performances have taken a dip from an average efficiency mark to an abysmal one. Wall shot a career-low 40.4%, including a 50.3% True Shooting percentage clip &mdash; the worst since his rookie campaign in 2010-11.
Wall just doesn&rsquo;t fit the timeline for the Rockets, who are ready to embrace their youth movement head-on. No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green headlines an enticing core of prospects in Houston. Alongside Green, Kevin Porter Jr. will help <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/something-to-prove-kevin-porter-jr-at-point-guard-houston-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">form an entertaining backcourt</a> filled to the brim with hot creation ability. Rookies Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba will join Jae'Sean Tate to make up a promising trio of bigs. First-year swingman Josh Christopher and Kenyon Martin Jr. also add their fun mix to the wing rotation.&nbsp;
Wall will still be around the team until a deal happens (if that ever comes to pass with the negative value associated with his remaining $91.7 million through 2022-23). Being a valuable mentor for Green and Porter will only be a positive for Houston&rsquo;s long-term outcome, and learning from a dynamic point guard like Wall certainly helps the future outlook for not only Green, but also Porter.
This could become a new trend for players on good terms with their organizations, only when it&rsquo;s apparently obvious a deal is best for both sides. Kevin Love&rsquo;s situation in Cleveland could be the next Wall-like story to surface in the NBA rumor mill soon enough.
But who would be interested in taking on Wall&rsquo;s contract? Houston would have to surrender some draft capital, being the immediate &ldquo;losers&rdquo; of the trade. When canvassing the landscape, very few fits bubble to the surface. However, there&rsquo;s a small possibility for the following three organizations.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Any time a player with a bad contract becomes available, Oklahoma City is No. 1 on any potential destination. The Thunder are not being shy about their intentions over the next few years &mdash; stockpile as many draft picks as possible to take swings on high upside prospects to build around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Acquiring Wall would be an interesting move for a Thunder team who just invested heavy draft capital in the backcourt (Josh Giddey, Tre Mann), but we can never rule them out in a scenario like this. If Houston offers any future draft compensation to general manager Sam Presti, he would bite.
Wall would form a fun backcourt alongside SGA while also serving in the mentor role he just exited in Houston. If Wall were to rebuild his value for a year with the Thunder, Presti would be able to potentially receive some positive value in return next offseason.
Oklahoma City Thunder receive: John Wall, future draft compensation
Houston Rockets receive: Derrick Favors, Isaiah Roby or Gabriel Deck
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Dallas has been in the market for a point guard. Whether it be Kemba Walker, Kyle Lowry or Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavs have sniffed around adding another ball-handler who could take pressure off Luka Doncic. Wall isn&rsquo;t the perfect fit next to Dallas&rsquo; young phenom &mdash; who&rsquo;s an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-mvp-odds-analyzing-the-top-5-candidates-in-2021-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MVP favorite entering his fourth season</a> &mdash; but they could make it work. Wall allows Doncic to play more off-ball, and the veteran can cut to the basket and attack off signature Luka dimes.
In order to make the salaries work, Kristaps Porzingis would be heading to Houston or another team who gets involved. Porzingis hasn&rsquo;t been the No. 2 option Dallas had hoped for when they went all-in on him a few years ago. This would certainly be one way to shake things up entirely for the Mavs. A potential starting lineup of Doncic, Wall, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell with Reggie Bullock as the sixth man is a fun thought.
Dallas Mavericks receive: John Wall, Usman Garuba or Alperen Sengun, future draft compensation
Houston Rockets receive: Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Brown, Willie Cauley-Stein
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
This is where it gets super wacky in terms of hypothetical Wall trades. Currently, Wall&rsquo;s fit with the Spurs makes no sense. However, what about a convoluted four-team trade featuring the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns as well?
Here&rsquo;s the entire framework of a crazy four-teamer I spitballed in my head:
Houston Rockets receive: Ben Simmons, Isaiah Joe, Daquan Jeffries
Philadelphia 76ers receive: Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, Jakob Poetl, Al-Farouq Aminu, multiple future first-round picks
Phoenix Suns receive: Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks
San Antonio Spurs receive: John Wall, Dario Saric, Jalen Smith, Paul Reed
That&rsquo;s the only way I could ever fathom Wall entering San Antonio&rsquo;s odd attempt of trying to thread the needle with competing and tanking simultaneously. With a young combination of guards spearheading their core, the Spurs are on pace to be a top-five team in lottery odds at the end of next season. Also, Simmons landing in Houston to lead its young core is a somewhat unrealistic, insane thought to have as well.
As you can see, there will likely not be many takers on Wall. It will be very interesting to see how this all unfolds for Wall and the Rockets.
Are we looking at an imminent deal for Wall, or one that lasts all the way until the NBA trade deadline in February?

When canvassing the NBA landscape, does any team make sense for John Wall? Evan Sidery looks at possible landing spots.

Examining potential trade destinations for John Wall

The Spurs have claimed forward DaQuan Jeffries off free agency waivers, sources tell The Athletic Stadium.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1393673208839106560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Jeffries, who has spent time with both the Rockets and Kings this year, has averages of 4.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game this season.

According to The Athletic, the Spurs have claimed free agent forward DaQuan Jeffries off waivers.

Spurs claim forward DaQuan Jeffries from waiver wire

Devin Booker scored 18 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets 133-130 on Monday night for their sixth straight win.
Deandre Ayton matched a season high with 27 points as Phoenix won for the ninth time in 10 games overall. Mikal Bridges had 20 points, and Chris Paul finished with 19 points and 11 assists.
&ldquo;I was just taking what the defense gave me,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;I got a couple of quick easy 3s and was just trying to win the game. That&rsquo;s a hard-fighting team over there. A couple of times, we had the opportunity to put them away, but they didn&rsquo;t go anywhere. We wanted to get this one bad.&rdquo;
Phoenix led 101-92 after three quarters, but Houston opened the fourth with a 9-0 run. Houston trailed by nine again with a minute left, but Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate and Kelly Olynyk made back-to-back 3-pointers for the Rockets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
D Book had himself a night! 36 PTS | 6 REB | 6 AST | 53.2 FPTS <a href="https://t.co/WuvrFNSIqG">pic.twitter.com/WuvrFNSIqG</a>
&mdash; NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFantasy/status/1379418620908949510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Christian Wood made two free throws to cut the Suns' lead to one with 3.5 seconds remaining. Booker hit two free throws, and Houston&rsquo;s inbounds pass was deflected to end the game.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t as pretty as you would like it to be, but at the end of the day, we beat a team that&rsquo;s playing a lot better on the road, and it&rsquo;s a big win for us,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said.
Phoenix has now won three straight against Houston following a 13-game skid in the series.
Ayton added 11 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season.
&ldquo;He just dominated in the paint,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way that he can play. We were trying to go to him tonight. I thought he had a pretty dominant night, scoring the ball. I thought his poise was at a high level when he got the ball in the post.&rdquo;
Wood scored 23 points and Olynyk finished with 21. Kevin Porter Jr. had 20 points in the Rockets' fifth consecutive loss.
&ldquo;They made a bunch of tough shots, but we felt like we were getting great shots on the offensive end,&rdquo; Olynyk said. &ldquo;Guys really stepped up and made plays on both ends of the floor to give us new life. We just couldn&rsquo;t quite close it out in the end.&rdquo;
Rockets point guard John Wall missed a fourth straight game with a left knee injury.
Phoenix led 70-60 at halftime, hitting 12 of 23 3-pointers in the first half. The Suns finished 18 of 37 from 3 in the game.
500 CLUB
Paul became just the fifth player in NBA history to record 10 or more assists in 500 games. He joined John Stockton (863), Magic Johnson (586), Jason Kidd (569) and Steve Nash (509).
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best set-up guys I&rsquo;ve ever seen,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;He understands how to get guys the ball, a lot like those other guys who are mentioned. It says a lot about him, the way he studies the game and his durability.&rdquo;
EARNED IT
The Rockets debuted their &ldquo;Earned Edition&rdquo; jerseys, the option of a fifth uniform designated for NBA teams which made the playoffs the previous season.
TIP-INS
Suns: Frank Kaminsky III was out because of the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols. ... Abdel Nader was out with right knee soreness. ... Cameron Johnson scored 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
Rockets: SG DaQuan Jeffries was claimed off waivers from Sacramento. Jeffries appeared in 18 games for Sacramento this season, averaging 3.5 points in 12.9 minutes. ... Armoni Brooks was sidelined for health and safety protocols. ... Danuel House Jr. is expected to miss at least a week with a right ankle sprain.
UP NEXT
Suns: Host Utah on Wednesday night.
Rockets: Host Dallas on Wednesday night.

Devin Booker scored 18 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Suns beat the Rockets 133-130 for their sixth straight win.

Booker scores season-high 18 in fourth, Suns beat Rockets for 6th straight win

The Houston Rockets are claiming DaQuan Jeffries off waivers from the Sacramento Kings.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1379177080794021898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Jeffries has played sparingly in the NBA thus far, appearing in 21 contests across two seasons for the Kings after going undrafted in 2019. But the 23-year-old played well in the NBA G League last season. Jeffries averaged 16.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game with the Stockton Kings, and makes sense as a young option for the re-tooling Rockets.

Jeffries had spent two seasons in Sacramento before being waived.

Rockets claiming DaQuan Jeffries off waivers from Kings

The Sacramento Kings have agreed to terms on a two-year, $3 million contract with DaQuan Jeffries.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1332036013422731266" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Sacramento claimed Jeffries on a two-way contract last season, and the rookie moonlighted in 13 games at the NBA level while largely staying with the Stockton Kings in the NBA G League. The 23-year-old put up 16.5 points per game in Stockton, and is a low-risk flier for the franchise due to his high motor and athleticism.

Jeffries played for Sacramento on a two-way contract last season.