Russell Westbrook Trade Rumors: Rockets Interested, Considered a 'Long Shot'
While they have a level of interest in acquiring the eight-time All-Star, the Houston Rockets are a "long shot" to land Russell Westbrook, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
MacMahon alluded to the lack of assets Houston could send the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Westbrook trade in addition to the "challenges of executing a complicated three-team deal."
Westbrook's future in Oklahoma City appears to be on shaky ground after the Thunder agreed to trade Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, a move that helped the Clippers sign Kawhi Leonard, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Losing George not only damages Oklahoma City's title hopes but also raises uncertainty about the Thunder simply reaching the playoffs after a number of Western Conference rivals improved their rosters.
Wojnarowski reported Saturday that Thunder general manager Sam Presti was speaking with Westbrook's agent and that the two parties had discussed trading the 2017 MVP this offseason.
Adding Westbrook would fit with Daryl Morey's general approach of adding assets and figuring out the rest later.
Many were skeptical the partnership of James Harden and Chris Paul would work, but they got the Rockets within a game of the 2018 NBA Finals.
Granted, Morey has had to play down rumors of Paul requesting a trade amid friction with Harden. Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill reported in June the two stars had reached a point where they could no longer play together.
Throwing Westbrook in the mix would seemingly exacerbate the situation. Imagine head coach Mike D'Antoni trying to keep Westbrook, Paul and Harden all happy within the offense.
The Rockets tried a version of this when they signed Carmelo Anthony last summer. Westbrook is clearly a better player than Anthony, but he isn't too different stylistically. He's an inefficient shooter who needs the ball in his hands to be successful.
The Anthony experiment was a disaster. He lasted 10 games before Houston decided to remove him from the lineup and start finalizing his departure.
A Westbrook trade would probably play out the same way, except for the fact the Rockets couldn't simply let him go since he'll earn $171 million over the next four years.
As much as Morey might want to land another All-Star to reshuffle Houston's rotation, Westbrook makes little sense as a trade target.
