Windhorst: Houston Rockets Trying to Land Russell Westbrook in Three-Team Trade

Russell Westbrook might be on his way out of Oklahoma City soon, as the Thunder search for a trade partner willing to take his massive contract. They may have found one, as the Houston Rockets are reportedly trying to maneuver a way to land him.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claims the Rockets are attempting to get their hands on Westbrook as part of a three-team trade:

Meanwhile, Westbrook has also reportedly given the Thunder a list of teams he’d like to wind up with and the Miami Heat are at the top of it.

Moving Westbrook will be incredibly difficult because of the four years and $171 million remaining on his contract. That’s a huge deal that will pay him $47 million for the 2022-23 season if he opts in (side note: he will). The team taking on Westbrook will have to believe he’ll be worth every penny. He’ll turn 31 in November and could be near the end of his prime.

Westbrook averaged a triple-double for his third straight campaign during the 2018-19 season. He’s a former MVP who is an eight-time All-Star and has been named to one of the All-NBA teams eight times. But, he comes with serious issues.

Westbrook shot just 29.0 percent from 3-point range this season and has been on a steady decline since hitting a career-best 34.3 percent during the 2016-17 season. He’s also a wildly inefficient player at times, as his PER dropped to 21.14 this season, which ranked 46th in the NBA. His true shooting percentage (50.1) has also been in a steady decline since peaking in 2017.