According to multiple reports, the second year of John Wall’s two-year contract with the Clippers is a team option.
The Los Angeles Clippers and John Wall recently put pen to paper on a two-year, $13.3 million deal. When it was first announced, there were two prevailing thoughts: it was a straight two-year deal with no options, or the second year would feature a player option. According to multiple reports, it turns out that it’s neither.
The Clippers signed John Wall to a two-year, $13.3 million deal that contains a $6.8 million team option in the second season.
— JD Shaw (@JShawNBA) July 13, 2022
Sources: The Los Angeles Clippers signed John Wall to a two-year, $13.3 million deal, which includes a team option for the 2023-24 season, @hoopshype has learned.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 13, 2022
This is somewhat unheard of in the MLE-era of the NBA. After all, most veteran free agents like to have control of their future when signing deals such as these, and that includes former Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari who recently signed with the Boston Celtics. Gallinari’s two-year, $13.3 million deal with Boston features a second-year player option.
John Wall could provide some great value for the Clippers this upcoming season, and if he does then the team option that the Clippers were able to tack onto his deal is going to be of great importance moving forward. It also means that should the Clippers pick up the second-year team option, they’ll have Early Bird rights on Wall and could re-sign him to a multi-year deal following the 2023-24 season.
That is, of course, if everything goes well. If it doesn’t, then the team option means the Clippers hold the power to move on from the partnership. But with Wall saying all the right things, there should be great optimism regarding his fit with the Clippers and how this all will play out.
Considering players like Kendrick Nunn (Los Angeles Lakers) and Bruce Brown (Denver Nuggets) received player options on the second-year — Nunn last offseason, Brown this offseason — it’s remarkable to see Wall have a team option. Add in players such as Lonnie Walker IV (Lakers) and Joe Ingles (Milwaukee Bucks) getting only straight one-year deals at the mid-level exception and it really puts things into perspective.
This truly was an amazing piece of business by the Clippers, and a sign of Wall’s commitment to the team and buying in.
You can find Justin Russo’s daily content on the LA Clippers by subscribing to his Patreon feed, and you can also follow him on Twitter at @FlyByKnite.