The Houston Rockets have been notified by Russell Westbrook that he wants out of the team as soon as possible. Brodie only spent one season in Houston and it was nothing like he expected before leaving Oklahoma City and going to H-Town. Only one season went down for him in Texas and now he’s looking to join a team where he can be a floor general and have a similar role and impact as he had in OKC.
The Rockets have apparently started to work to find him a new team, but some teams want to take advantage of that situation. According to Brando ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, the Los Angeles Clippers offered a deal for the Rockets that they considered ‘insane’ although they would get Paul George for Westbrook.
This package includes Paul George going to Houston and the Clippers receiving Russ, Robert Covington and the Rockets’ 2023 first-round pick.
For Clarity:
PrelimInary trade dialogue between Clippers/Rockets looked like this:
Rockets Get: Paul George
Clippers Get: Robert Covington, Russell Westbrook, Houston's 2023 1st round pick. https://t.co/2MK40Hyxud
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) November 13, 2020
Of course, that is a lot to give up for PG13, especially knowing his collapse last season in the playoffs. The Rockets are rushing to find a trade partner for Russ and they won’t miss offers, that’s for sure. Several teams have been linked with the 2017 NBA MVP and if it’s not the Clippers, another team will land the point guard this offseason.
The Clips have been trying to improve the point guard position ever since they were eliminated from the playoffs during the Orlando bubble. The team has been linked with Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo and now Russell Westbrook. However, they will have fierce competition for any of them, especially Russ. He could join three franchises to create Big 3 besides the Lakers, who could shock everybody and land Brodie in a blockbuster trade.
Westbrook was already a man in-demand before asking for a trade out of Houston. Now plenty of things want to acquire his services and the competition will be extremely hard for all of them. The Rockets still have work to do to fix the mess they are right now and trading away Westbrook should be their top priority.