Houston Rockets Acquire Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul, Picks

Teammates again!

On Thursday evening, the Houston Rockets acquired Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Chris Paul, two first round picks with pick swaps in 2021 and 2025. The two first round picks and the 2021 pick swap are protected 1-to-4, whereas the 2025 pick swap is protected 1-to-20.

The Thunder now own 15 first round picks from 2020 to 2026.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, pick swaps in 2021 and 2025, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2019

Houston and Miami were reported the preferred destinations for Westbrook who was understanding of the situation in Oklahoma City. Tim MacMahon reported that it was Rockets superstar, James Harden who was the “driving force in this deal”.

Westbrook and Harden started their NBA careers together as members of the Thunder, even reaching the NBA Finals once during their first tenure as teammates.

Meanwhile, the Thunder are already working on a way to move Paul to a new team according to ESPN. The Miami Heat are said to be a potential landing spot for the aging superstar.

Can this Summer get any more wilder?