Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook wishes to leave the team.
What We Know:
- Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Russell Westbrook is looking for a trade to get out of Houston. This comes after a week of concerning reports coming out of the Rockets camp.
- Earlier this week, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported that the Rockets were willing to move on from Westbrook after just one year. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon also reported that James Harden and Westbrook were not happy with the direction of the franchise and expressed their concerns to management.
- Tilman Fertitta bought the Rockets with high hopes of bringing a championship to Houston. Ever since the Rockets lost in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, the team has underperformed. Back-to-back second-round exits in 2019 and 2020 were followed by the resignations of head coach Mike D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey.
- The Rockets traded Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook last offseason as an all-in move to get closer to a title. Pairing former league MVPs Westbrook and Harden worked surprisingly well in the regular season but they were lackluster in the playoffs, barely beating the Thunder in seven games and getting steamrolled by the Lakers in five.
- Westbrook has reportedly informed the Rockets that he would prefer to be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, or the Atlanta Hawks. According to Charania, James Harden is still committed to the team and wants to stay.
Westbrook still has over $130 million left on his contract over three years. Finding a willing and able trade partner will be difficult, but the Clippers and the New York Knicks have expressed interest.
