NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Details on Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul Trade

After seven long years, Russell Westbrook is reuniting with James Harden.

The triple-double maestro is going to be a Houston Rocket, and Chris Paul is going to lead the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder in his place.

As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported, the Thunder are trading Westbrook for Paul, two first-round picks and the rights to two pick-swaps:

Earlier this week, reports suggested that, in light of Westbrook and the Thunder's expected split, the 30-year-old was most likely to end up with the Miami Heat.

Despite that, negotiations stalled, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN's sudden reporting that the Rockets were interested was even more suddenly followed up with them successfully getting their man.

The price for replacing Paul with a former MVP who has averaged a triple-double for the past three seasons?

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the deal includes a number of sweeteners:

After Paul was regularly banged up and missed 24 games in a Rockets season that culminated in a first-round exit to the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston now gets to run it back with Westbrook at the helm.

Despite shooting a full 6.8 percent worse than Paul from deep, the 30-year-old is four years younger and a healthier, more dynamic athlete and scorer.

Westbrook has said he will improve as a shooter, but his impact and efficiency should improve regardless as he's surrounded by better spacing on a Houston team that's built—by a coach and front office committed to pace and space—with players who can hit threes. 

Despite conflicting reports, Wojnarowski noted Houston was Westbrook's preferred destination all along.

The Thunder, however, prefer to live in the future, where the future appears to be bright, per Bobby Marks of ESPN: 

And Thunder general manager Sam Presti may not be finished yet. The Heat wanted to pair Jimmy Butler with a star point guard but didn't want to shell out the assets for Westbrook, and Wojnarowski reported they may be in play for Paul:

Paul's contract, although similarly bloated, has one year less than Westbrook's and, at 34 years old, his asking price should be much lower.

It's unclear what pieces would be involved, but Paul's fit in a rebuilding Oklahoma City is not ideal, although the bold, flashy guard's style would suit Miami perfectly.