HOMECOMING
John Wall wasn't happy with how the Wizards handled his trade to Houston
Feb 17, 2021, 12:48 pm
HOMECOMING
Despite the injuries the Houston Rockets face, John Wall made a trip back to D.C. to face a familiar team, the Washington Wizards. The Wizards' organization told John that they would not trade him but that clearly changed when Wall was traded for Russell Westbrook. Wall couldn't play basketball for two years because of an Achilles and ACL injury. Although Wall was seen throwing up gang signs, he apologized to the Wizards' organization for his actions.
"I called everybody and apologized about it. Nobody's perfect. We make mistakes," Wall said to Fred Katz of The Athletic. "The number one goal is, you didn't give me the opportunity for me and Brad to run it back, like y'all said we (would)," he said. "That was (my) and our ultimate goal. It was, 'OK, we're gonna give it one more shot.' If it's just one year or two years, we were gonna give it one more shot just to see. … And it's just crazy we never got to do that. I don't think they wanted to do that. I think they moved forward and did whatever they wanted, which is cool. But that was the most frustrating thing than anything. Like, to have an opportunity to run it back with my brother and playing with the guy, the level he's on now."
Bradley Beal loved the competition in Monday night's victory versus the Rockets. He had 37 points and is on a verge of becoming a starter in the All-Star game.
"I'm definitely looking forward to competing against him the rest of my career, as crazy as that may sound," Beal said.
In Wall's return, he had 29 points and 11 assists on 38% shooting. Wall was able to keep the Rockets in the first half, as they were down by three. He made a big play inside the 1st quarter, which was Wall's signature dunk. Wall is averaging 26.5 points per game and shooting 40% percent from the field against the Wizards. The Wizards' head coach Scott Brooks was impressed by Wall's performance. "He was special…He's an All-Star player," as Brooks said.
Put Him On A Poster 😤#WallWay pic.twitter.com/eY0wXbSjQe
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 16, 2021
Wall is continuing to play through adversity because of injuries to the Rockets' roster. It honestly feels like Wall is playing with one hand behind his back. Wall's leadership skills have allowed him to stay composed and support his teammates. The Rockets just lost Ray Spalding to an apparent Achilles injury. Spalding was just called up from the G-League affiliation of the Rio Grande Vipers. The Rockets were missing Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, Victor Oladipo, and Christian Wood. Those guys were part of the Rockets win streak of six in a row.
Hopefully, Wall continues to progress through this season of injuries and COVID-19.
"Nobody's putting their heads down. Like I'm telling them every day, keep fighting, don't give up," as Wall said. "It's a bump in the road but always the next man up and just give ourselves a chance. All you can do is go out there and play hard."
Wall gave his all to the Wizards organization and still cares for the Washington D.C. community. Even though the Rockets lost, it was good to see the respect he had for that community.
Cal Raleigh approached the All-Star Home Run Derby like a day on the lawn. Dad was on the mound and baby brother was behind the plate.
Only this time, there were tens of thousands looking on at Truist Park and a $1 million prize.
“It goes all the way back to him coming home and me forcing him to throw me a ball and hit it in the backyard or in the house or something probably shouldn’t be doing,” a beaming Cal said, flanked by Todd and Todd Jr. after defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.
Todd Raleigh, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina, threw the pitches and Cal’s 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., did the catching. A first-time All-Star at age 28, Cal became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr., who was on the field, snapping photos.
“Anybody that’s ever played baseball as a kid dreams of stuff like this,” Cal’s dad said. “I dreamed of it. He dreamed of it. When you’re a parent, you look at it differently because you want your kids to be happy.”
Leading the major leagues with 38 home runs at the All-Star break, Cal almost didn’t make it past the first round. The Mariners’ breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker each hit 17 homers, and Raleigh advanced on a tiebreaker for longest long ball: 470.61 feet to 470.53 — or 0.96 inches. At first, Cal wasn’t aware whether there would be a swing-off.
“An inch off, and I’m not even in the final four, which is amazing,” Cal said. “So I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit.”
Raleigh totaled 54 homers. He won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over the right-center field seats was the longest of the night.
Cal Raleigh's #HRDerby by the numbers:
Total HR: 54
HR of 425+: 31
Top distance: 471 ft
Avg distance: 430 ft
Total distance: 23,212 ft
Top exit velo: 112 MPH
Avg exit velo: 102 MPH pic.twitter.com/0pV6nGWLsA
— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025
Cal’s brother, nicknamed T, kept yelling encouragement to the brother he so admires.
“His swag, the way he plays, the way he hustles,” T said.
Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers — MLB counted one that a fan outfielder caught with an over-the-wall grab. Using a multicolored bat and down to his last out, Caminero took three pitches and hit a liner to left.
“I didn’t think I was going to hit as many home runs or make it to the finals,” Caminero said through a translator.
Cal was just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman in 2023. His dad was a righty and wanted both his sons to hit from both sides.
“Did it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally,” Todd Sr. said. “I would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I’d throw it slow and he’d hit it. Then I’d say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again. I was a catcher. I played a little bit, and I just knew what a premium it was. I didn’t want either one of my boys to ever say, am I right-handed or left-handed?”
There was a downside.
“I don’t recommend it if you have two kids, they’re both switch hitters, if you want to save your arm, because that’s a lot of throwing,” said dad, who had rotator cuff surgery.
Raleigh hit his first eight homers left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the rest of the night.
“Was grooving a little bit more lefty so we were like, since we have a chance to win, we might as well stick to the side that’s working a little better,” Cal said.
Caminero beat Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal. Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show.
Cruz’s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.
Wood hit 16 homers, including one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.fter it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
After it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
“We kind of leave it in the cage. We’ve got a cage at home, a building,” Todd Sr. said. “Or we leave it in the car on the rides home. There’s probably been a few times where she says, yeah, that’s enough.”