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Who Would You Trade John Wall For Right Now - Revisited

By Jon Kelman

A little over 6 months ago, I wrote a piece on who the Wizards would consider trading Jon Wall for, before our young point guard had even played a game. I used the NBA trade value column that Sports Guy does for ESPN with one major tweak of removing salary considerations. SG's new list came out last week, featuring Wall for the first time, so I think it is a good time to revisit my article.

For those of you too lazy for the link, Bill Simmons creates a yearly list of the 40 most valuable trade commodities in the NBA and I am using his column to find the players the Wizards would consider trading John Wall for right now. To be clear, Simmons takes into account age and contract, but I am removing contracts from my analysis.

Once again, here is the list of guys that I think the Wizards would at least consider for the 20 year old Great Wall (with age and Sports Guy ranking in parentheses and in order listed by Sports Guy) after the jump:

Dropped off my list from July:

  1. Brook Lopez (22 yrs, NR) - He has taken a step back this year, grabbing less than 6 rebounds a game, yikes!
  2. Brandon Roy (26 yrs, NR) - Almost sad with him being one of the NBA's elite last year, and then his knees finally catching up to him and perhaps all but ending his brief career.
  3. Tyreke Evans (21 yrs, #39) - I wasn't sold on trading Wall for him over the summer, and he has not taken the step forward of proving that he can make his teammates better.
  4. Chris Bosh (26 yrs, #30) - He has actually done a great job of adapting to his role in Miami, but as 3rd banana on a contender I can't put him ahead of Jimmy.

Ahead of John Wall on SG's List, but Not On My List:

  1. Paul Gasol (30 yrs, #9)
  2. Dirk Nowitzki (32 yrs, #8)
  3. Dwayne Wade (29 yrs, #7)
  4. Kobe Bryant (32 yrs, #6)

This group's omission  is solely based on age. The Wizards are trying to build a young team that grows up together, and I just don't see Uncle Ted wanting to change course and cast his lot with one of these guys, as great as they are. Not getting too far ahead, but the Wizards have almost no other pieces in place to make a run while these guys still are elite, so it would not make sense trading young for old.

The new list:

  1. Carmelo Anthony (26 yrs, #34) - Sports Guy has him low because he has 1 year left on his deal. I know he doesn't play defense, but he is excellent. As Nate Silver wrote, he makes all of his teammates much better in this great stats article.
  2. LaMarcus Aldridge (25 yrs, #15) - Simmons has him 1 spot ahead of Jimmy, but I am not sure the Wizards can take this deal.
  3. Kevin Love (22 yrs, #14) - Just 2 years older than Wall and would be a great addition to any frontcourt. The rebounding numbers are just absurd.
  4. Rajon Rondo (24 yrs, #13) - Wall looks like some combination of Rondo and Derrick Rose. There is a chance that Wall surpasses Rondo as a player in the next couple years, but you have to go with the proven commodity here.
  5. Russell Westbrook (22 yrs, #12) - I agree with SG that Westbrook and Rondo are about even in value right now. Similar to Rondo, I think Jimmy could surpass Westbrook with an improved jump shot, but again, you have to take the guy who is already doing it.
  6. Deron Williams (26 yrs, #11) - So he took down a hall of fame coach, he is still one of the game's best players.
  7. Chris Paul (25 yrs, #10) - His knee is a concern, but come on, this is a no-brainer given what he's done this season.
  8. Blake Griffin (21 yrs, #5) - The highlight reel dunks will eventually slow down I think....maybe...But even when you strip those away you have an absolute beast of a player.
  9. Derrick Rose (22 yrs, #4) - Probably the league MVP to date. He is the guy who coming out of college profiled most similar to Wall, so his progress is extremely encouraging.
  10. Kevin Durant (22 yrs, #3) - He hasn't made the leap this season that many expected, but, as SG points out, he is only 22....
  11. Dwight Howard (25 yrs, #2) - Wizards fans are all-too-familiar with the destruction he has wreaked on our frontcourt. I still wonder if he can take that tiny step forward to reach the LeBron and Kobe level.
  12. LeBron James (26 yrs, #1) - Speaking of LeBron, he's still really good.

I think all but LaMarcus Aldridge on that list of 12 are pretty easy calls, and other than maybe Chris Bosh, don't see any other players that could belong on my list. Next year will be a big one for Jimmy though, as PGs tend to start making rapid progress forward in year 2.

Let's hear what everyone thinks.