Wizards rule out star guard Wall ‘returning’ this season
Cavs agree to 2-year deal with Bell
WASHINGTON, June 30, (AP): John Wall will not join the Washington Wizards for the resumption of the NBA season this summer, ending the chances of the five-time All-Star guard playing his first game since 2018.
General manager Tommy Sheppard effectively ruled out Wall returning this season when he said the 29-year-old wouldn’t be part of the Wizards’ traveling party to Central Florida. Among the factors in the decision was a cap of 35 people per team in the quarantined bubble at Walt Disney World. The COVID-19 pandemic also hindered Wall’s progress in his rehab from multiple surgeries.
Wall hasn’t played an NBA game since December 2018. Surgery for bone spurs in his left heel ended that season; while he was working his way back from that, he tore his left Achilles tendon and needed another operation in 2019.
He declared himself “110 percent” healthy in late May, saying, “I’m itching to get back out there.” The Wizards put the brakes on that, meaning Wall will try to return for the 2020-21 season as originally planned.
Sheppard said Wall will continue to work out under team supervision in Washington and Miami. Coaches who are not part of the group of 35 quarantining at Disney World will be available to oversee his progress.
When the season was suspended in mid-March, the Wizards were 24-40 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, 5 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic. As one of 22 teams returning, Washington will have an outside chance without Wall - and forward Davis Bertans, who opted out - to earn a playoff spot.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to terms with free agent forward Jordan Bell on a twoyear contract and signed two-way forward Dean Wade to a multiyear deal, a person familiar with the negotiations.
The additions fill two roster openings for the Cavs ahead of the NBA reopening its transaction window Tuesday, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the deals.
The 6-foot-8 Bell was a secondround pick in 2017. He spent his first two seasons with Golden State before signing with Minnesota as a restricted free agent in 2019 and then going to Memphis. He’s averaged 3.8 points in 154 games.
The Los Angeles Clippers have signed free agent Joakim Noah to a new contract for the rest of the season, three months after he first signed a 10-day deal with the team.
The two-time All-Star averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 42 games for Memphis last season. Noah originally signed with the Clippers on March 9, two days before the NBA put its season on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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