Wizards' Russell Westbrook 'Super Excited' to Play with 'Superstar' Bradley Beal

Russell Westbrook spoke to reporters Saturday for the first time since his trade to the Washington Wizards from the Houston Rockets.

No question is bigger for the Wizards than how Westbrook will pair with Bradley Beal, who's eligible to become a free agent in 2022. Westbrook told reporters he's "super excited" to play alongside Beal and described the two-time All-Star as a "superstar talent."

The Athletic's Kelly Iko, Sam Amick and Shams Charania reported Nov. 11 that Westbrook wanted to leave the Rockets in part because he "has been uneasy about the team's accountability and culture."

While the 2017 MVP's interactions with his new teammates and coaches has been limited, he spoke highly of how the Wizards are operating behind the scenes. 

"I was lucky to start in such a great culture in Oklahoma City," he said. "... I think being around here, I can already see in day one or two, we have a lot of guys that love to work, that understand what it's like to put the work in."

Westbrook sidestepped a question about whether he wanted Houston to trade him.

By going to the nation's capital, the 32-year-old reunites with Scott Brooks, who coached him for seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He praised Brooks' management style.

"You can have a conversation, talk about anything," Westbrook told reporters. "He's always available. ... To me, that's something I'm grateful for."

Westbrook has long been a somewhat divisive player in terms of how he plays the game. He ranks second behind Michael Jordan in usage rate (32.7 percent), per Basketball Reference, and some have questioned whether he has held his teams back to some extent despite his obvious talent.

The nine-time All-Star used his media call to make larger points about his entire body of work:

Westbrook also addressed why he selected the No. 4 jersey instead of No. 0, which he used with the Rockets and Thunder and in college at UCLA:

It seems Westbrook hit all the right notes, which will help endear him to a fanbase that had long rallied around John Wall. Trading away Wall made sense from a basketball perspective because he hasn't played since December 2018, but that didn't blunt the emotional blow to some.

Westbrook will presumably make his Wizards debut Dec. 13 in a preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets. Washington opens the regular season Dec. 23 against the Philadelphia 76ers.