Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking rumored trade targets by impact
By Jason Reed
4. John Wall
John Wall is the more talented guard on the Washington Wizards but is the worse fit on the Los Angeles Lakers. While Wall is one of the most talented and explosive guards in the game, and one of my personal favorites, his play style and demeanor simply does not seem to mesh well with LeBron James.
Wall is a similar guard to Kyrie Irving in the sense that he can create his own offense, get to the cup as well as score off-ball and distribute the basketball pretty nicely. However, for some reason, Wall has simply stopped playing defense the last two seasons.
Wall is a good defender when he wants to be. He is a shifty pick-pocket guard that can steal the basketball and create fast breaks. However, for whatever reason, Wall has been less than impressive on the defensive side of the basketball.
Plus, Wall is a point guard that needs the ball in order to thrive. And while LeBron reportedly wants to play more off-ball in the future, Wall’s ball-dominant nature is only going to hurt whatever young pieces don’t get traded, whether that is Brandon Ingram or Kyle Kuzma.
Wall has already seemed like a headache on the Washington Wizards and has not seemed like the leader a point guard should be. While he may be more talented than someone like Lonzo Ball, Ball has a better character and still gives the Lakers a good outlook at the point guard position.