John Wall and Russell Westbrook could exchange teams in the next couple of days as the Houston Rockets are looking for a trade partner for the 2017 NBA MVP. Russ only spent one season in Houston before requesting a trade from the Rockets and the team is reportedly trying to grant his wish. Westbrook could join another franchise to build a superteam but now he could be taking a different path.
He has been linked with a move to the Washington Wizards in exchange for John Wall and the latter is reportedly on the same page as Russ, wanting to leave Washington, according to recent reports. Even though this is not a finished deal, people around the league believe it could be done in the next days. According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, there is a “50-50 chance” that the Wizards and Rockets agree to exchange their star point guards.
“Honestly, I’d give it a 50-50 chance,” Iko said. “With the state of uncertainty surrounding the Rockets’ two best players, you really can’t rule anything out. Wall for Westbrook would be a pretty clean swap cap-wise, and James Harden and Wall have a good relationship. But basketball-wise, does it make that much more sense than a Westbrook-Harden pairing? Wall might be a smoother, more natural playmaker than the aggressive Westbrook, but he isn’t that much more of a threat from the perimeter. I think the deal becomes much more likely if the Rockets receive the sort of draft compensation they’re looking for, recouping some of what they lost in the Chris Paul trade.”
Wall didn’t like the Wizards talking with the Rockets to trade him and he now wants out. The 30-year-old is returning to the league after two years inactive and it’s unclear if he’ll do so with Washington. The team reportedly wanted to give it a try to the John Wall-Bradley Beal association this year before they move on from one or both of them.
Well, it looks like they’ll have to accelerate things this season since Wall doesn’t want to stay with the capital team.
