Shockwaves were felt throughout the National Basketball Association on Wednesday night when it was reported that a deal had been struck to send John Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round NBA draft pick to the Rockets for Russell Westbrook.
This deal was alleged to be in the works for months, as both players wanted out of their current destinations, but it never came together until Wednesday.
It is not immediately clear why either team would make this deal, other than to placate the two disgruntled superstar players. Wall and Westbrook are the same players at this moment in time. They are both ball-dominant, high-usage, and poor shooters from three-point range in a league where such an emphasis is being placed on that shot.
This deal also does not save either Houston or Washington any money against the salary cap. Westbrook, 32, and Wall, 30, both have three years left on their contract averaging approximately $44 million per year.
This trade is a risk for Houston because Wall will not have stepped on a basketball court for two years after suffering an Achilles injury in December of 2018 when the NBA season officially tips off in a few weeks. Before the injury, Wall was averaging 20 points-per-game on 44% shooting from the field. Whether Wall will be able to regain his all-star form after two years away from the game is up in the air.
This trade is not all negative though.
A positive for Washington is this trade will reunite Westbrook with Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks. Brooks coached Westbrook from 2008-2015 when the point guard was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the Brooks-Westbrook partnership, Westbrook won the NBA MVP during the 2016-2017 season.
Even though the Wizards and Rockets went through an overhaul on Wednesday, both teams may not be done wheeling and dealing as of yet. Bradley Beal of the Wizards, and James Harden, from the Rockets, may find themselves in new cities sooner rather than later after speculations both players may also be on the move.
Both of these teams are rebuilding, whether they admit it or not, and will not be having very successful 2020-2021 seasons.
Before long it may be Westbrook’s team in “The Nation’s Capital” and Wall’s show in Houston.
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