What's next for four superstars after the Russell Westbrook-John Wall trade
What are the league-wide implications of the surprise
Russell Westbrook-for-
John Wall trade?
On Wednesday, the
Washington Wizards and
Houston Rockets agreed to
flip the point guards, with a protected first-round pick also going to Houston. Westbrook is coming off of his first season in Houston, and Wall hasn't played since December 2018.
What's next for the teams and superstars involved? What about
James Harden,
Bradley Beal and any team looking to trade for either player?
Our NBA experts break down the deal and the fallout.
Russell Westbrook's make-or-break moment
Westbrook is one of the most polarizing players in recent NBA history. His talent is undeniable, but so is his ability to frustrate anybody who roots for him. This deal gives Westbrook a chance to align his all-world basketball talent with a better on-court approach.
At 32, his time is running out. His game depends on the exact kinds of speed and leaping ability that often dwindle at his age. If Westbrook is ever going to evolve into a more effective version of himself, it must happen now, or this deal will age poorly for Washington.
At his best, Westbrook is one of the finest attacking guards in the game. His explosiveness is legendary and enables him to get into the paint and finish at the rim with ease. He ranked third overall in the league last season in points in the paint, trailing only
Giannis Antetokounmpo and
Zion Williamson by putting up 15 points per game. That's really good.
But here's the problem: Westbrook's career is also defined by his obstinate insistence on taking jumpers, despite the fact that he's just not very good at it. Of the 50 players who have launched at least 2,500 jumpers the past five seasons, Westbrook ranks last in shooting efficiency, logging a putrid effective field goal percentage (eFG) of just 42.5%. That's on 4,814 attempts. Oof.
Westbrook's shot chart from last season offers a familiar refrain that dates to when he last played for coach Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City (now his coach in Washington): dangerous near the hoop and bad everywhere else.
For a two-month period before the 2020 season stopped, Westbrook showed promising signs, putting together one of the best stretches of his career. His shot selection improved, and his numbers were awesome. In the 19 games between Jan. 1 and the shutdown, Westbrook ranked second in the NBA in scoring (31.7 PPG), converted 52.7% of his shots and led the league in points in the paint by pouring in 19.4 per game. Those are phenomenal figures, folks.
Then the wheels came off. Westbrook contracted the coronavirus before arriving at the Florida bubble and then suffered a quad injury. When he was on the floor, he reverted to his pesky bad habits.
Which Westbrook will show up in Washington? We're less than a year removed from seeing a version of Russ that is still scary, but the headstrong point guard in love with crooked jumpers should be frightening to only his own team.
-- Kirk Goldsberry
John Wall (5) and Russell Westbrook (9) have 14 All-Star appearances between them. David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
John Wall's stubborn comeback
Three years ago, I found myself at
DeMarcus Cousins' locker in Sacramento talking about his close friend John Wall.
Even though Wall was in the middle of a career-best season, he'd had a run of relative bad luck with injuries, his shoe deal coming apart and his max contract having been signed just before a salary-cap spike.
"What people have to know is John is stubborn as hell," Cousins said. "He will always bounce back. Always."
If there were ever a time for a Wall revival, it is now, as he is reunited with Cousins on a new team in Houston. He hasn't played in an NBA game since Dec. 26, 2018, after heel surgery and a
devastating torn Achilles. The contract Wall got for that career season in 2016-17 -- four years and $140 million -- is regarded as such an albatross that the Wizards had to attach a first-round pick to it to make this trade.
Last year, Wall's mother and greatest advocate died after a battle with cancer. A few months ago,
he had to formally apologize after a video surfaced of him displaying gang signs. He reportedly requested a trade out of Washington, where he was one of the most popular players of the past 20 years.
For Wall to turn his career around, it will take all the stubbornness he has.
The word leaking from L.A. and Miami workouts in recent weeks was that Wall looks totally rejuvenated after his long recovery. If that's true, it would buck the trend of what Achilles injuries consistently have done to NBA guards in their 30s.
There's plenty of room for a comeback story, but expectations will be low, as all eyes in Houston continue to be on Harden and his trade request. Even if they hope to delay it, the Rockets appear headed for a rebuild. With three years left on his deal, Wall might have to live through all of it.
-- Brian Windhorst
Reliving the Westbrook, Harden duo in their lone season with Rockets
With Russell Westbrook moving to the Wizards, take a look back at his highlight-reel moments with James Harden in their one season together on the Rockets.
James Harden's future
Houston's decision-makers do not believe that this deal drastically alters the suddenly strained dynamic between Harden and the organization. It certainly doesn't change the franchise's stance regarding the perennial MVP candidate, who the Rockets fully anticipate will at least begin the season in Houston, as a high-ranking team source told ESPN in the wake of Wednesday's trade.
Houston's front office is confident that the team can be competitive this season. Rookie general manager Rafael Stone has remodeled the roster in his first weeks on the job, adding skilled centers
Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins in free agency before this sell-low swap of max-salary PGs. The Rockets are hopeful that winning will ease Harden's itchiness for an exit while recognizing that the pressure to trade him will intensify if early returns indicate that the team is not capable of contending.
With two guaranteed seasons remaining on his contract, Harden can't just bully his way
to his desired destination of Brooklyn. The Rockets have made it clear that they'd require a king's ransom -- starting with a young franchise cornerstone and a massive picks package, per sources -- in any potential deal for Harden. (Houston understood that Westbrook had much less market value and pounced when the asset of a protected first-round pick was attached to Wall.)
As the face of the franchise, Harden earned the right to have heavy influence on the Rockets' past moves to pair him with superstars -- first
Dwight Howard, then
Chris Paul and finally Westbrook. However, Harden won't enjoy the same power in negotiations for him to pack his bags and play with stars elsewhere -- not when time is on the Rockets' side.
-- Tim MacMahon
James Harden will have his third All-Star point guard in the backcourt when John Wall joins Houston. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Bradley Beal's new challenge
This is Bradley Beal's team. There was little doubt that had
John Wall returned to the Wizards this season, he was coming back to a different franchise and a different Beal. In Wall's absence, Beal flourished into a playmaker, averaging career highs of 30.5 points and 6.1 assists in 2019-20.
Together, Beal and Wall couldn't get the Wizards past the second round. They haven't been to the playoffs since 2017-18. Now, Beal and head coach Scott Brooks are tasked with finding a way to help a singular, complicated talent in Westbrook fit with this roster desperate to make the postseason.
Without Wall, Beal averaged a league-high 22.9 shots per game last season and shined as the team's primary playmaker. Westbrook changes that dynamic. Similar to Wall, Westbrook has been at his best when the focal point of the offense. Staggering Beal's and Westbrook's minutes -- along with Westbrook accepting a secondary role -- might be necessary for both to flourish.
Beal signed an extension in October 2019 that temporarily quieted trade chatter but never really suppressed interest across the league. GM Tommy Sheppard has been adamant that Beal isn't going anywhere.
This team has two important recent lottery picks in
Rui Hachimura and
Deni Avdija, but Washington's future before and after this trade revolved around Beal. He has made it clear that he loves D.C. We'll see if a new co-star's presence helps keep him there.
-- Ohm Youngmisuk
Harden's and Beal's potential suitors
This supermax swap will have a domino effect on the trade market. The question is if that will come before the trade deadline or in the 2021 offseason.
Acquiring Westbrook should buy time for Washington when it comes to the future of
Bradley Beal, who has a player option for 2022. Beal likely remains off-limits in trade talks for teams such as the
Brooklyn Nets and
Philadelphia 76ers until next summer. But if this doesn't work and the Wizards end up back in the lottery, history says that players as good as Beal on expiring contracts usually end up moving on.
Harden's situation as a trade candidate is more complicated. Unlike the
New Orleans Pelicans with
Anthony Davis or the
San Antonio Spurs with
Kawhi Leonard, the Rockets are not backed into a corner following Harden's trade request because he's under contract through 2022-23 (though the last year is a player option). But that doesn't mean Houston should ignore calls about the superstar guard.
The Nets or 76ers could start slowly, leading to pressure to make big moves. Would the Nets get desperate and make a kitchen-sink offer (
Caris LeVert,
Spencer Dinwiddie,
Jarrett Allen, four future unprotected first-rounders and two pick swaps) if they are hovering around .500 in mid-January? Would the 76ers reach the point of offering
Ben Simmons,
Matisse Thybulle and multiple firsts?
Those packages are too rich before the season starts. This trade doesn't change that. But if Harden maintains his preference to leave and one of these teams is ready to make an overwhelming offer, Houston should certainly listen.
-- Bobby Marks
Look at @Amajorfucup over there....he over there doing the cabbage patch and tootsie roll and shit he so damn happy.....
