Wall, five-time All-Star, signs with Clippers

Five-time All-Star John Wall signed a free-agent deal with the Clippers on Friday.

Wall posted photos on his social media accounts of him signing his contract and receiving congratulations from owner Steve Ballmer in Las Vegas, where the Clippers have a team in the NBA Summer League.

“John is one of the great downhill drivers and shot creators of his era,” said Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations. “He will add depth to our backcourt with his initiating, passing and pointof-attack defense.”

The 31-year-old guard averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds while starting 40 games for the Houston Rockets during the 2020-21 season. He sat out all of last season while the Rockets considered a long-term plan for him.

Wall had left heel surgery that caused him to miss most of the 201819 season. He sat out the entire following season while recovering. He played in just 41 games in 2017-18 after being limited by a left knee injury.

Wall played for the Washington Wizards from 2010-20 after being the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Kentucky.

The Kings made seven selections in the NHL entry draft on Friday, adding organizational depth with most if not all of the blue-chip prospects off the board by the time they made their first pick at No. 51 overall.

There, they chose center Jack Hughes, the youngest player in the NCAA last season as a freshman at Northeastern University. While he's of no relation to Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes, his father Kent was a player agent who became the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens last season and his brother Riley was a New York Rangers draft pick.

Kings general manager Rob Blake said he and his staff would be looking for players whose standing slipped from the first round to the second. Hughes fits that bill, to a degree, in that he was slotted seventh among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings, but fell to 26th on their final list.