The Washington Wizards have made a huge commitment to John Wall, signing their star point-guard to a max-contract allowed under the NBA collective bargaining agreement.
The deal is for 5 years and will pay Wall approximately $80 million. The exact value of the deal is unknown as the value will fluctuate with the Salary Cap. However Wall will always be paid 25% of the Wizards cap, whatever that is. The extension will kick in beginning in the 2014-15 season.
While a press conference has been called for later today, a Wizards team statement released last night has confirmed the news:
“Since drafting John with the first overall pick, we have been impressed with his maturation, hard work and commitment to our franchise,” said Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis. “He is the cornerstone of our team, and we have clearly expressed our desire to build around him well before making it official by re-signing him today. We are extremely confident in his leadership abilities and are excited to see the continued improvement of the team.”
“I am both proud and humbled by the belief that the Wizards organization, the fans and my teammates have shown in me since I arrived here three years ago,” said Wall. “I can promise all of them that I will repay that belief by representing the city of Washington and doing everything I can to get this team back where it belongs.”
Wall, 22, has spent his entire 3 year career with the Wizards since being taken with the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Wall averaged 23.9 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting and 41.7 percent from three while adding 7.8 assists per game. Over his career he has averaged 16.9 points, eight assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
Wall was limited to just 49 games last season. His value on the court is evident as the Wizards went 5-28 without him, and 24-25 with him in the lineup. Wall makes a huge difference to the Wizards offence. The team averages nearly 7.5 more points per 100 possessions with him on the floor than without him.
Basically Wall is the difference between the Wizards being an awful team and an average team. Now that he’s locked up it will be up to the team to surround him with the talent so that he can take a good team and make them great.
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