Ranking the 6 worst starters of the Rockets' rebuild

Houston Rockets v Washington Wizards
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6. John Wall

John Wall being on this list may be baffling on the surface. And especially if you're simply looking at his NBA resume.

If that's how you're gauging, I get it. Wall is a five-time All-Star, former All-Defensive team selection, and even made an All-NBA team. That's impressive.

However, Wall was rather unimpressive during his lone season in Houston. The numbers don't necessarily look bad, as he averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.2 rebounds but the devil is always in the details.

Wall averaged half as many turnovers as assists (3.5 per game) and had his worst assist-to-turnover ratio of his accomplished career. Furthermore, Wall, who has never been an efficient scorer, saw his efficiency plunge to his lowest mark since his rookie year (49.8 percent true shooting).

Wall was eager to prove that he could still play at a high level after missing a combined 163 games in the previous three seasons before his arrival in the Space City. For this reason, Wall became a bit of a shot chucker, averaging 18 shots per game and 6.2 triples per contest (career-high).

If you are still questioning why Wall is on this list, keep in mind how tirelessly the Rockets worked to find a trade partner for the former top pick, to no avail.

The Rockets realized that they were only going to be able to deal Wall if they attached a future first-round draft pick, which wouldn't have been optimal considering where they were in their rebuild. So they decided it was best to pay him $44 million to not play at all in 2021-22 before paying him $40.8 million to go away.

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