Though John Wall has yet to sign the designated player extension the Washington Wizards have placed in front of him, team owner Ted Leonsis isn’t worried. He believes the All-Star point guard will put pen to paper soon enough, per the Washington Post‘s Candace Buckner:
Ted Leonsis said he expects John Wall to sign his Designated Player Extension.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) July 19, 2017
Ted Leonsis' full quote on DPE: "My prediction is John Wall will sign his extension. He wants to be here & my goal is to have no drama."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) July 19, 2017
It also helps, of course, that we’re talking about a lot of money. That’s the point of these DPEs. They were set up in the new collective bargaining agreement to help teams keep incumbent superstars. They’ve also inadvertently acted as sort of a deterrent, forcing teams to consider moving cornerstones because they’re not ready to shell out that much money for one player, a la DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings.
The case with Wall is different. He has already headlined playoff teams. He’s shown he can play at a high level in the postseason. If not for his injury in 2015, maybe the Wizards make the Eastern Conference Finals. If not for a run of bad luck against the Boston Celtics this year, he played more than well enough for most of the playoffs to lead them there again.
That the Wizards offered him the extension as soon as he became eligible has to resonate with him on some level as well. They’ve committed to paying the luxury tax next season for the first time ever, at least for now. They have two viable sidekick options for him with Otto Porter and Bradley Beal. Wall can always roll the dice and try to find a better situation in 2019, when he can explore free agency, but that’s two years away, and this guaranteed money is in front of him now.
Leonsis has every reason, then, to feel confident. John Wall passing on this offer would be the real shock.
