July 21, 2017 will likely not be remembered as a Friday that changed the course of the Eastern Conference, but it potentially could be an afternoon and night that will forever link two of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference in John Wall and Kyrie Irving. At 3:39 p.m., Brian Windhorst broke the news that Irving wants out of LeBron James's Cleveland. Just over six hours later at 9:53 p.m., reports broke that Wall had agreed to a "supermax" extension that keeps him under contract until 2023.
Two players that have battled countless times as former number one overall picks, jockeying back and forth as the best point guards in the Eastern Conference, and now their career paths divert as far apart as possible. One wants out of the city that drafted him and won a title with him, while the other commits to the city for at least another five years in search of his first ring.
It is possible that Washington's front office saw the Irving news and decided to willingly concede Wall's management team's ask for a trade kicker and player option. The Wizards sent back to Wall's agent Rich Paul the contract that the latter was seeking the same day as the Irving news and instead of waiting to give Washington an answer, Wall decided to accept on the spot. Wall himself was unaware of the Irving report on the day he agreed to terms.
"Yeah, that was crazy to me, I didn’t know that was happening at all," explained Wall. "And then it was like 'oh, too bad.'"
Many think that Irving is crazy to want to play with one of the best players in the game of all time in James and Wall tends to agree with that party as well. That said, Wall believes he knows why Irving would want out.
"If I been to three straight Finals, I would want to stay," shared Wall, "but you never know what type of relationship or whatever details they have going on the backside. He’s one of those guys that wants to be the main guy. … It’s always tough when you are always in the shadow to somebody else and that is something I think he probably got tired of."
This is the same kind of belief that many pundits thought was ongoing between Wall and back court teammate Bradley Beal, but that is simply not the case.
Even if Irving is traded out of Cleveland before the beginning of the season, Wall is not naive to think that the Cavs will not still be the class of the East.
"Naw," began Wall when asked if the defending East champs are vulnerable, "because you never know, they might trade for [somebody] and you still got to get through LeBron so, it’s like 'damn.'"
Despite the outflow of talent in the East with Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Paul Millsap, and others headed west, Wall sees the conference shaping up similar to last season.
"I think it’s the same as last year," said Wall when asked about his view of the Eastern Conference following free agency. "You got Celtics still, you have Toronto as one of those teams, you have us, and you have Cleveland. For sure that team. Milwaukee has a chance to get better if they want to. Sixers have a chance to improve because they have a lot of pieces if those guys stay healthy."
With Boston adding Gordon Hayward and Cleveland obviously having the best player in the league, many worry that Washington will begin lagging behind, but that is not the case for Wall.
"Just like I am this summer, if everyone keeps getting better, developing as a team, we keep adding the right pieces," said Wall about the team's ability to grow without adding a superstar.
Wall and the rest of his teammates, especially guys like Markieff Morris, are always a confident bunch in the locker room and the Wizards can only hope that continues to be contagious as the team's point guard thinks they are on the steps of something special even if others doubt.
"We’re close," responded Wall when asked how far away the franchise is from a championship. "My ultimate goal is to get to the Eastern Conference Finals and see what happens from there. We are getting better and better each year."
"I definitely do," said Wall when probed again if the current roster is good enough to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. "We improved our bench this year. I know like I am working every day this summer, I know my other teammates are. We understand what Coach Brooks wants from us from Day One. It was kind of new for us [last year] coming into a new season, going through a new offense and trying to get the chemistry down pat."
Retaining the starting five core, a revamped bench that will include Tim Frazier, Jodie Meeks, Mike Scott, and a healthy, at least the team hopes, Ian Mahinmi, and continued chemistry with head coach Scott Brooks are reasons to believe Washington can have an even better season that last year. Those three facets are key, but a hungry John Wall hoping to make up for a disappointing end of the season might be the most promising source of success.
"We had Game 1 and Game 2 won, we were just a team that let those games slip," reflected Wall on the Boston series. "We know what it takes to win we just got to get over that hump. Game 7, not the way we wanted it to end. I definitely went out swinging. I didn’t go 0 for 0, I went 0 for 11, shot the ball, played the game I wanted to play. At least I wasn’t being passive, I was being aggressive like I was the whole playoffs. I can deal with losing that way and use that for motivation for this season coming up."