Russell Westbrook’s time with the Houston Rockets seems to be coming to an end. Just last summer, Westbrook was looking forward to playing in his 12th season for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But a few weeks into July of 2019, the Thunder and Westbrook decided a trade would be best. So, the Thunder sent Westbrook packing to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
Matching up two NBA MVPs gave the Rockets a good chance to compete for an NBA title after the Harden and Chris Paul duo failed to make it past the Western Conference Finals.
Westbrook and Harden had a solid first season with the Rockets. Houston managed to obtain a record of 44-28, notching the fourth seed in a tough Western Conference. Despite Westbrook’s injury concerns early on in the postseason, Houston managed to make it out of the first round by defeating the Thunder.
Once they got to the second round, though, the Rockets came to a halt as they faced a tough Los Angeles Lakers team. As many predicted, Houston found themselves defeated in the second round, which led to the departure of Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni and General Manager, Daryl Morey.
With all of the critical changes to the organization over the last few months, Harden and Westbrook have reportedly grown worried about the future of the Rockets. Last offseason, when the veteran All-Star arrived, Houston had championship expectations. Heading into the 2020-2021 season, the narrative is quite different.
Therefore, Russell Westbrook “wants out” of Houston, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Earlier on Wednesday, reports indicated neither Westbrook nor Harden has requested trades from the Rockets. But it appears after some thought, Westbrook is ready to put Houston in the rearview and find a new NBA home.
