The Houston Rockets have granted All-Star guard Russell Westbrook his wish to leave the organization. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets traded Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard John Wall and a protected first-round pick.

The move comes just days after Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard told the media that the franchise doesn’t intend to trade Wall.

Wojnarowski added that the pick included in the trade has several protections through 2026, and if it doesn’t convey, the Rockets are set to receive a second-rounder in 2026 and 2027.

While the Westbrook-Wall swap might come surprising to some, the trade wasn’t entirely unexpected. The Wizards and Rockets engaged in talks several weeks ago, when it became clear that Westbrook wanted out but couldn’t come to an agreement at the time.

Reportedly, Sheppard and Rockets’ GM Rafael Stone resumed negotiations on Tuesday, and this time it was a lot more straightforward talk that concluded on a positive note.

Westbrook joined the Rockets before the 2019-20 season, teaming up with his former OKC Thunder teammate James Harden. However, his time in Houston was marked with injury struggles and the team’s inability to make an impact in the offseason.

Westbrook reportedly didn’t enjoy his time with the organization at all and concluded that he would have been better off elsewhere. He averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game in the regular season but only managed 17.9 points and 4.6 assists in the playoffs.

In Washington, Westbrook will team up with All-Star guard Bradley Beal, while also having his former Thunder coach Scott Brooks on board.

For John Wall, the move to the Rockets represents a chance for a fresh start after two years of injury struggles. Wall played his last game in late 2018 and failed to return to the court since, having dealt with a heal injury and a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The deal might end up working for both the Wizards and Rockets. The Wizards now have a team that can contend in the Eastern Conference, and bringing in Westbrook might convince Beal to commit his future to the franchise.

Rockets, on the other hand, get a player who wants to play in Houston, and this could help them in the long-term if he leaves the injury issues behind. 

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Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook continued to write his name in the history books on Monday. Westbrook posted a triple-double against his former team Oklahoma City Thunder, which means that he now has one against every team in the NBA.

Westbrook finished the game against OKC with 32 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, joining LeBron James as the only other player with this achievement. The All-Star point guard, however, didn’t manage to complement this with a win.

Rockets had a comfortable 17-points lead after the third quarter, holding the Thunder to just 14 points in the period. They, however, allowed 41 points in the fourth and allowed Oklahoma City to steal the 112-107 win.

“Honestly I thought we played a pretty good game,” said Westbrook after the game. “We played a good game for the most part. Obviously the last six minutes we didn’t play our best basketball, but I thought we had pretty much control of the game. There’s some good to take out of this game, and we’ll look at the film to figure it out and move forward.”

Following this defeat, Houston Rockets now find themselves on a four-game losing streak. They sit on the sixth place in the West with a 26-16 record, and 7.5 games behind the first seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

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Oklahoma City Thunder has finalized the job of parting ways with the All-Star part of their roster this offseason. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Thunder traded 2017 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to Houston Rockets in exchange for guard Chris Paul.

Wojnarowski reports that the deal also includes Rockets sending two first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, both protected from No.1 to No.4, as part of the deal. OKC will also have the opportunity to swap picks with Houston in 2021 and 2025.

Thunder isn’t expected to keep Paul on their roster, and will probably re-direct him to another team before the trade deadline concludes.

Although the teams haven’t officially announced the trade, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta confirmed to Houston’s Fox 26 that Westbrook is coming to town.

“We’re excited to have Russell Westbrook,” – said Fertitta. “I would watch him play for Oklahoma City, and he’s so athletic. At the same time, this franchise just had the two years with the most wins it’s ever had in consecutive years, and we wouldn’t have accomplished that without Chris Paul. Chris Paul is unbelievable, and he’s gonna be sadly missed.”

Ever since Thunder traded All-NBA forward Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a monster haul of picks, Westbrook and Thunder’ general manager Sam Presti worked together in order to figure out their next step. Both sides ended up “welcoming” the idea that Westbrook gets traded and Presti was willing to hear out the player’s wishes about his next destination as a way to thank him for his contribution to the franchise.

Although Thunder would certainly be able to get a better package from some other team, Presti orchestrated the trade with Houston Rockets which will reunite Russell Westbrook with his former teammate James Harden. Both Westbrook and Harden discussed the possibility of playing together in the past few days and were enthusiastic about teaming up.

The post Thunder Trade Russell Westbrook to Houston Rockets for Chris Paul appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Houston Rockets have granted All-Star guard Russell Westbrook his wish to leave the organization. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets traded Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard John Wall and a protected first-round pick.

The move comes just days after Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard told the media that the franchise doesn’t intend to trade Wall.

Wojnarowski added that the pick included in the trade has several protections through 2026, and if it doesn’t convey, the Rockets are set to receive a second-rounder in 2026 and 2027.

While the Westbrook-Wall swap might come surprising to some, the trade wasn’t entirely unexpected. The Wizards and Rockets engaged in talks several weeks ago, when it became clear that Westbrook wanted out but couldn’t come to an agreement at the time.

Reportedly, Sheppard and Rockets’ GM Rafael Stone resumed negotiations on Tuesday, and this time it was a lot more straightforward talk that concluded on a positive note.

Westbrook joined the Rockets before the 2019-20 season, teaming up with his former OKC Thunder teammate James Harden. However, his time in Houston was marked with injury struggles and the team’s inability to make an impact in the offseason.

Westbrook reportedly didn’t enjoy his time with the organization at all and concluded that he would have been better off elsewhere. He averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game in the regular season but only managed 17.9 points and 4.6 assists in the playoffs.

In Washington, Westbrook will team up with All-Star guard Bradley Beal, while also having his former Thunder coach Scott Brooks on board.

For John Wall, the move to the Rockets represents a chance for a fresh start after two years of injury struggles. Wall played his last game in late 2018 and failed to return to the court since, having dealt with a heal injury and a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The deal might end up working for both the Wizards and Rockets. The Wizards now have a team that can contend in the Eastern Conference, and bringing in Westbrook might convince Beal to commit his future to the franchise.

Rockets, on the other hand, get a player who wants to play in Houston, and this could help them in the long-term if he leaves the injury issues behind. 

The post Rockets Trade Russell Westbrook to Wizards for John Wall appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook continued to write his name in the history books on Monday. Westbrook posted a triple-double against his former team Oklahoma City Thunder, which means that he now has one against every team in the NBA.

Westbrook finished the game against OKC with 32 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, joining LeBron James as the only other player with this achievement. The All-Star point guard, however, didn’t manage to complement this with a win.

Rockets had a comfortable 17-points lead after the third quarter, holding the Thunder to just 14 points in the period. They, however, allowed 41 points in the fourth and allowed Oklahoma City to steal the 112-107 win.

“Honestly I thought we played a pretty good game,” said Westbrook after the game. “We played a good game for the most part. Obviously the last six minutes we didn’t play our best basketball, but I thought we had pretty much control of the game. There’s some good to take out of this game, and we’ll look at the film to figure it out and move forward.”

Following this defeat, Houston Rockets now find themselves on a four-game losing streak. They sit on the sixth place in the West with a 26-16 record, and 7.5 games behind the first seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

The post Russell Westbrook Now Has a Triple-Double Against Every NBA Team appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder has finalized the job of parting ways with the All-Star part of their roster this offseason. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Thunder traded 2017 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to Houston Rockets in exchange for guard Chris Paul.

Wojnarowski reports that the deal also includes Rockets sending two first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, both protected from No.1 to No.4, as part of the deal. OKC will also have the opportunity to swap picks with Houston in 2021 and 2025.

Thunder isn’t expected to keep Paul on their roster, and will probably re-direct him to another team before the trade deadline concludes.

Although the teams haven’t officially announced the trade, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta confirmed to Houston’s Fox 26 that Westbrook is coming to town.

“We’re excited to have Russell Westbrook,” – said Fertitta. “I would watch him play for Oklahoma City, and he’s so athletic. At the same time, this franchise just had the two years with the most wins it’s ever had in consecutive years, and we wouldn’t have accomplished that without Chris Paul. Chris Paul is unbelievable, and he’s gonna be sadly missed.”

Ever since Thunder traded All-NBA forward Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a monster haul of picks, Westbrook and Thunder’ general manager Sam Presti worked together in order to figure out their next step. Both sides ended up “welcoming” the idea that Westbrook gets traded and Presti was willing to hear out the player’s wishes about his next destination as a way to thank him for his contribution to the franchise.

Although Thunder would certainly be able to get a better package from some other team, Presti orchestrated the trade with Houston Rockets which will reunite Russell Westbrook with his former teammate James Harden. Both Westbrook and Harden discussed the possibility of playing together in the past few days and were enthusiastic about teaming up.

The post Thunder Trade Russell Westbrook to Houston Rockets for Chris Paul appeared first on SportzBonanza.