This NBA offseason has been crazy with all the new additions to teams via free agency/trade. One of the biggest names that have been in the trade talks has been Russell Westbrook who averaged 27.2 PPG, 7.9 REB, and 7.0 AST last season in Houston. The Rockets went with the small ball last season with Westbrook getting a lot more comfortable in the offense once Capella was moved to Atlanta. There was a lot of promise in his first season with his close friend James Harden as they showed great chemistry on and off the court. The Rockets weren’t able to get out of the second round of the NBA Playoffs in the bubble as they lost to the Lakers. Not long after the loss to the Lakers the Rockets were left looking for a new head coach and they moved on from Daryl Morey. The Rockets ownership stated that they want to compete for a championship with James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
The Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta made it clear that Houston has their eyes on a championship and that started with the hire of Stephen Silas. The new head coach Stephen Silas comes with 20 years of coaching experience in the NBA and he recently was coaching Luka in Dallas. There is no word on if James Harden or Russell Westbrook had any say on the hire but it was well-received around the NBA as Stephen Silas has been deserving for years. It was reported on November 11th by @ShamsCharania that Russell Westbrook wanted out of Houston. Once the word was out that Westbrook wanted to out of Houston the trade scenarios came flooding in. Many teams from the Knicks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Magic and the Wizards were in the mix for the former MVP. A lot of the trades that were coming out for Westbrook were highly disrespectful for someone of his talent but it was reported that the market for Westbrook wasn’t good. One trade that wasn’t disrespectful was the swap of John Wall and Russell Westbrook which was first reported as a possibility on November 17th. After John Wall heard about the rumors he was reported to want out of Washington.
Both Westbrook & Wall have similar games and both are explosive to the basket. Also, both Wall and Westbrook are NBA All-Stars while being great leaders/floor generals. The biggest difference with this trade is the fact that John Wall is coming off a ruptured left Achilles which is a very tough injury to come back from but John Wall is also younger than Westbrook. So now we fast forward to December 2nd as both teams resumed talks this afternoon where the once rumor became a reality. The Houston Rockets traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall as it became official. The Wizards are getting an MVP in Westbrook to pair up with Bradley Beal and the Rockets are getting a pissed off John Wall who’s ready to prove he’s still one of the best in the NBA. John Wall will be joining the Rockets after the news of one of his best friends DeMarcus Cousins just signed with them reuniting the two Wildcats in H-Town. This could be really special for the Rockets if both Cousins and Wall are healthy to pair with a lethal James Harden who’s ready for a championship like yesterday. John Wall is a pass-first guard who’s improved on his offense over the years and we will be looking for Cousins and Harden on a nightly basis now. The last season that John Wall played he was averaging 20.7 PPG and 8.7 AST and he will look to improve on those to prove the Wizards and his doubters wrong after this trade.
Check out some of John Walls open run this offseason as he’s preparing for the 2020-2021 season below
Follow Me on Twitter @TravisSingleton & Instagram @SneakerReporter
Recent Comments