Wizards' Scott Brooks: Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal Fit Is 'Pretty Seamless'

Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks believes guards Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook will mesh well after the Wizards acquired Westbrook from the Houston Rockets for guard John Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick this week.

According to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, Brooks said the transition to Beal and Westbrook as a duo should be "pretty seamless," adding: "It's going to take both of them to make some sacrifices."

With the addition of Westbrook, the Wizards are hoping to improve on their 25-47 record and ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season.

Brooks was Westbrook's head coach for seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, so he knows as well as anyone what Westbrook brings to the table.

Per Youngmisuk, Brooks feels Westbrook will command instant respect from the Wizards locker room based on his accomplishments and work ethic: "I think he is going to demand their attention ... these guys are going to have a lot of respect for him because they've seen how hard he played. They will see now how hard he works."

The 32-year-old Westbrook is one of the most accomplished players in the NBA with nine All-Star nods, one NBA MVP award and one NBA Finals appearance to his credit.

From 2016-17 through 2018-19, Westbrook averaged a triple-double in three seasons, which is something that had never been done in NBA history previously.

The Rockets acquired Westbrook from the Thunder last offseason for Chris Paul and draft picks in hopes that he would form a dominant backcourt with James Harden and lead the Rockets to the NBA Finals.

Westbrook was productive with 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game, but the Rockets fell in the second round of the playoffs again, and reports surfaced that Harden didn't want to play alongside Westbrook any longer.

Similar reports came out of Washington regarding Beal and Wall, which made the Westbrook-for-Wall trade a logical move for both sides.

The big question now relates to whether Westbrook will be an ideal running mate after he wasn't for Harden. According to Youngmisuk, Brooks believes Westbrook will fill Wall's role nicely and complement Beal: "There's definitely a lot of similarities. They are probably 1 and 1A on speed [and finding shooters] ... Russell and Brad, they are as physical as any [two-way] backcourt in the league."

Wall missed the entire 2019-20 season with a torn Achilles, and it remains unclear how he will look when he returns to action. The Wizards at least know what they're getting with Westbrook, which may have been the biggest argument in favor of the trade.

Even if Westbrook doesn't make the Wizards a championship contender, reaching the playoffs as the No. 7 or 8 seed in the Eastern Conference isn't necessarily a high bar to reach, and they are now in a good position to seize a playoff spot provided Beal and Westbrook stay healthy.