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The Houston Rockets continued their franchise overhaul on Wednesday night, swapping Russell Westbrook at the Washington Wizards for John Wall in an exchange of disgruntled point guards.
The Rockets will also receive a 2023 first-round pick in the deal. There has been growing apprehension in Houston about All-Star guard James Harden and his willingness to stay with the Rockets. But Houston remains determined to start the season with Harden on the roster and try to reestablish a relationship with him before considering a trade, according to a person familiar with Rockets thinking who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Westbrook joins former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and their former general manager Daryl Morey on the high-profile start list since Houston’s sweet second-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wall hasn’t played in nearly two years due to left Achilles tendon issues, but the Wizards’ willingness to cede a first-round pick made the deal more palatable for Houston after previously exploring a Westbrook deal. with the Knicks and Charlotte Hornets.
“The decision to part ways with John, one of the greatest players in franchise history, has been extremely difficult,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “What he has meant to our organization and our community is immeasurable and will not be forgotten.”
The trade brings together nine-time All-Star Westbrook and his former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks in Washington. Brooks, now the coach of the Wizards, has been a staunch supporter of a deal with Westbrook despite the limited commercial market Houston found for Westbrook, the winner of the 2016-17 NBA Most Valuable Player award.
Wall, a five-time All-Star who had spent his entire 10-season career with the Wizards, is reunited with DeMarcus Cousins, his former Kentucky college teammate and a close friend in Houston. The Rockets signed Cousins this week on an unsecured one-year contract in hopes that Cousins, 30, four times All-Star, can recover from the Achilles tendon and knee injuries plaguing him for two years. .
Westbrook, 32, and Wall, 30, have three seasons for their contracts worth just over $ 130 million.
The Rockets acquired Westbrook from Oklahoma City in July 2019 in a trade that cost Houston veteran guard Chris Paul, two future first-round draft picks and the right to trade two more first-round picks. Westbrook averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists as the Rocket, but the Harden pairing failed in the playoffs.
D’Antoni and Morey abruptly quit their contracts shortly after Houston’s elimination in the second round. D’Antoni ended up with the Nets as an assistant coach, and Morey is the new president of Philadelphia basketball operations. The Rockets have since hired Stephen Silas as D’Antoni’s replacement and have promoted longtime club team adviser Rafael Stone to replace Morey – but reports of Harden and Westbrook’s displeasure with the franchise management have been prevalent for weeks.
The trade will give Westbrook and Wall the opportunity to start over. Not only can Westbrook rekindle their partnership with Brooks, but also form another All-Star backcourt tandem alongside Bradley Beal, who averaged 30.5 points per game last season. And Wall will now kick off his return from what is widely regarded as the sport’s most feared injury alongside Harden.
Kevin Durant of the Nets, himself trying to bounce back from an Achilles tendon injury as Wall, said this week he worked with Wall in Los Angeles and said he “looks amazing to me.”
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