John Wall said he deserved honesty from Wizards leading up to trade to Rockets

As John Wall gets set to return to Washington for the first time as an opponen Mondayt, he reflected on the trade to the Houston Rockets, saying that the Wizards were not honest with him during the process. 

"I felt like I deserved the honesty and respect because I’ve been there for 10 years," Wall told The Athletic on Saturday. "I think I did everything I could and gave everything I had, heart and soul to the organization on and off the court."

Wall told The Athletic that he ultimately felt that a trade was coming, but was still surprised he was sent to Houston on Dec. 2. He added that the organization that drafted him first overall in 2010 was not truthful with him, especially since general manager Tommy Shepard said a week before that there was "no plans to trade John." 

The last time Wall played at Capital One Arena, home of the Wizards, was Dec. 16 as he missed the last 47 games of the 2018-2019 season and all of 2019-2020 due to injuries.

"I never turned my back on the organization," Wall said. "I played through damn near every injury that a lot of people wouldn’t have played through. I played through broken hands in the playoffs. I think I did everything I could and gave everything I had, heart and soul to the organization on and off the court."

A tribute video from the Wizards is expected during the game, but Wall said he wished fans were allowed in the arena because "the fans can show me appreciation if they want to or don’t want to — which I think they will."

“Just know that I love (the Wizards fan base)," Wall said. "They’ll always have a place in my heart.”

This will be the second time Wall faces off against his former team. In the first meeting Jan. 26, Wall had 24 points and five assists in 24 minutes played in the Rockets' 107-88 win.

Wall is averaging 19.5 points per game with 5.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds with Houston, as he has played in 17 of the team's 26 games.