The biggest trade, and frankly move, of the NBA off-season was made Wednesday night as the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards completed a blockbuster deal that has shifted the landscape of two cities.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets are sending Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a first-round draft pick.
For weeks, speculation has been rampant that the Rockets would trade either Westbrook or James Harden, and obviously Westbrook is the first one to go. Time will tell if Harden will be dealt, but in the meantime, both the Rockets and Wizards swapped two massive contracts and big names. The contracts are nearly identical. Westbrook is due to make $41.4 million this season, $44.2 million in 2021-22, and has a $47.1 million player option for the 2022-23 season. Wall is due $41.3 million this season, $44.3 million the next, and has a $47.4 million option for 2022-23. Westbrook will be 34, and Wall 32 for the final season of their deals.
Westbrook, 32, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists last season in his only season in Houston. In 2017, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player after becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season. That season, the Thunder won 47 games and earned the 6th seed. In the opening round, they lost to the Rockets 4 games to 1. This past season, the Rockets won 44 games in the shortened season, but were disappointing in the second round, being reverse-swept by the Lakers after winning Game 1. Westbrook played poorly in that series, shooting just 42% and averaging just 19.8 points, well below his season average.
Wall is a more interesting given that he has not played in a game since December 26 of 2018 when he injured his Achilles. After season-ending surgery to repair the injury, he suffered a ruptured Achilles after falling his home and missed a year and a half total. Because of this, the jury is out as to what he'll be this season (although he has looked really good in workout videos and appears 100% healthy; it appears that the Wizards held him out for the latter part of this past season as a precaution. For a guy whose game is heavy on speed, explosiveness, and defense, it will be interesting to see how he comes back. The five-time All-Star was last an All-Star in 2017-18, when he averaged 19.4 points and 9.6 assists. In '18-'19, he averaged 20.7 points and 8.7 assists. Wall, at last viewing, was one of the top defensive guards in the league, while also being a dynamic athlete on the offensive end with a willingness to get guys involved. It will be fascinating to see him again team up with his college teammate Demarcus Cousins.
Who knows whether Harden will stay. I look at this trade from two points of view. The Rockets, obviously knowing Westbrook wanted out, wanted to get as close to equal value as they could in return. Now the question is whether they got Wall with the thinking that he'd be a better fit with Harden, or whether they got Wall because they have something in the works to deal Harden and wanted to pair Wall and Cousins to be their next duo. I tend to lean towards the latter, as getting a first pick in return in this deal, as well as potential assets plus picks in a Harden deal, would put them in position to be competitive. I feel like people are forgetting just how good Wall was pre-injury. "Pre-injury" being the key phrase here i know, but, as the saying goes "out of sight, out of mind", and I feel that people forget just how good a player he was at full strength. If he is close to what he was, he is without question one of the top point guards in the game.
The fit of Westbrook and Beal to me is a far better one than Westbrook and Harden. Westbrook, despite what people say about him, is a willing distributor and Beal, as one of the best shooters and scorers in the game, is not a ball dominant player like Harden is. I think that with Westbrook and Beal, along with solid role pieces in Davis Bertans and Rui Hachimura, the Wizards can compete in the East. The Wall and Harden fit is a little trickier I think. Wall can play off the ball as a slasher, but obviously there will be times when he handles the ball. To me, his defensive mindset is a better fit alongside Harden, as he does not necessarily need the ball, where I think Westbrook thrives with it. With that in mind, I feel like he is a slightly better fit in Houston with Harden.
All of that being said, I still expect for moves to be made. I still in my gut believe that Harden is on the move, too. I do not think that you trade Westbrook without also having a desire to, or a plan to, move Harden. Whether that is to Brooklyn for some package surrounding Caris Levert and Spencer Dinwiddie, or even Golden State for Andrew Wiggins, maybe James Wiseman and others, who knows. But I do think that Harden will be moved. I don't think you break up the pairing of Westbrook and Harden without dealing both of them. The difference between Westbrook and Wall isn't that drastic to me to say that the Rockets got better with this trade. That is why I feel Harden will also be dealt.
We will have to wait and see.
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