John Wall has struggled to regain his All-Star form in recent seasons, but the soon-to-be 33-year-old looked very good in recent action with Miami Heat players and NBA veterans.
Wall is currently a free agent after playing 34 games with the Los Angeles Clippers last season and sitting out all of the 2021-22 campaign. He averaged 11.4 points per game for the Clippers but has averaged more than 20 points per game as recently as the 2020-21 season. That came after he sat out all of the 2019-20 season because of injuries to his heel and Achilles and an infection.
The former No. 1 overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft played his first nine NBA seasons with the Washington Wizards and is a five-time All-Star. He has career averages of 18.7 points and 8.9 assists per game.
The Heat may be looking for players anywhere they can find them as they frustratingly wait for a resolution to their pursuit of Damian Lillard. The 33-year-old guard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers two months ago, but they reportedly have no interest in completing a deal with the Heat even though they may have no other team to bargain with.
Miami reportedly has already lost out on some players they may have wanted to add while waiting on Lillard, but the Heat still have their eyes on others who may have mutual interest in joining them, including Christian Wood, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Goran Dragic.
But at their peaks, those players would not compare to Wall at his best, or even close to his best. The Heat need offensive reinforcements in the backcourt after losing Gabe Vincent as a free agent to the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason. They also might have to include Tyler Herro in any Lillard trade.
Acquiring Lillard would be the ideal solution to that problem, and one NBA insider still believes the Heat will pull it off before training camp opens, but maybe Wall is showing he has enough left in the tank to make a difference for them too.