John Wall and the Washington Wizards are nearing an agreement on a five-year maximum contract extension worth about $80 million, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the month.
Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has had a bit of an up-and-down start to his career. He has battled injuries, turnover problems and an inconsistent jump shot, but he has also displayed the ability that made him the top pick.
After a knee injury forced Wall to miss the first two-plus months of last season, he came back and played the best basketball of his career. The 22-year-old averaged 18.5 points, 7.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds for the year, and he was even better than that during the last two months of the season. In March and April, Wall posted averages of 22.7 points and 7.8 assists while shooting 46.5 percent from the field.
Washington is clearly banking on Wall building off his strong finish to the year. It may seem like a bit of a risk to give the youngster the max without proving himself a bit more, but this should make Wall happy instead of being worried about his contract status heading into next offseason.
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