John Wall says the city ‘is still mad’ Wizards traded him
It has been over two years since the Washington Wizards executed the shocking John Wall for Russell Westbrook trade. It was a move that the city is still processing.
In a recent interview with Tidal League's Run Your Race podcast, Wall shared several details about the Wizards trade and how it all went down. He opened up the dialogue saying “I’ll tell you about my trade story. It was crazy.”
Wall explained that activity leading up to the trade started about a month out with an unexpected DM from Russell Westbrook.
“Russ DMs me out of nowhere asking for my number. He texted me ‘DC trying to get me but they saying you don’t want to leave.’ (I’m) like, no, I’ve been here for ten years, this my franchise.”
Wall admits that he still didn’t believe Westbrook but as the days went on, he started to realize it wasn’t was a normal trade rumor.
It became really clear during a conversation with Bradley Beal at a workout before the start of training camp: “I said ‘we going to run it back one more year?’ Once he said ‘I gotta think about it,’ I knew I was traded.”
Wall also said he knew something was up when General Manager Tommy Sheppard showed up at that same workout. Wall shared that Sheppard hadn’t watch him practice in years. However, he was there because he had an interview 30 minutes after where he stated that “everything was good” between him, Wall, and Beal.
“That's lies” Wall asserted.
After that, he went on to detail the day he was traded, how he officially found out at the same time he saw the news going across the ticker on his television, and how the city felt about it.
Wall addressed the difficulty he faced knowing he might get traded but still hosting his turkey giveaway three days beforehand: “Media is asking questions and I have to play politics. Fans are asking me not to leave and I have to tell them it’s out of my hands.
He is also aware that many fans were upset because of what he did for D.C. residents: “I touched the community and people who don’t really got s%*!, and are really from the city, not moved there, but really from Ward 8 and Section 8 and all that.”
While the trade is still difficult for Wall, he admitted that coming back in December to play the Wizards was gratifying: “I feel like I got the flowers I deserved. A lot of people go back and don’t give you that type of love. You know you deserve it but they don’t really have to give you that.”
One thing is for sure, the city will always show John Wall love.
