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The Houston Rockets said that they have reached a buyout agreement with point guard John Wall for the last season of his contract on Monday, the team announced on its Twitter and Facebook platforms.
"From top to bottom, the Rockets organization thanks John for his professionalism and we wish him the best," the Rockets' announcement reads.
The move essentially made Wall an unrestricted free agent, and ESPN reported that the former top pick is expected to join the Los Angeles Clippers later this week.
According to ESPN, the 31-year-old floor general exercised his nearly $48 million player option for next season on Tuesday, June 21.
Wall joined the Rockets in late 2020 via a trade which saw Houston ship Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards.
The ex-Kentucky Wildcat came aboard just as James Harden made his wishes to be traded elsewhere known.
Harden was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets, basically turning the role of team leader over to Wall.
Sports Illustrated (SI) reported that the oft-injured Wall logged 40 games with the Rockets during the 2020-2021 season and sat out the just-concluded 2021-2022 season.
During his first season in Houston, Wall at one point formed a budding "Big Three" with center Christian Wood and shooting guard Victor Oladipo that was known to Rockets fans as "The WOW Factor."
Wood was traded to the Dallas Mavericks while Oladipo is now with the Miami Heat.
Wall averaged 20.6 points per game (PPG) and 6.9 assists per game (APG) in his lone season of action with the Rockets, per Basketball Reference.
A few days after Wall exercised his option, the Rockets used the third pick in the 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft to take Jabari Smith, Jr. from Auburn, Houston Daily reported.
The Auburn freshman joins a Rockets team that’s in the throes of a rebuild and is expected to help last year’s No. 2 pick, Jalen Green, accelerate the process.
NBA free agency begins on Thursday at 5 p.m.