On Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets shipped All-Star Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for point guard John Wall and a 2023 first-round pick.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, Rockets superstar James Harden preferred to battle alongside Wall over Westbrook.
.@wojespn details the Russell Westbrook-John Wall trade:
"[James Harden] had a preference of John Wall over Westbrook." pic.twitter.com/GoAHv1QVUj
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 3, 2020
Wall, 30, was the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He played on the Wizards for his entire career.
The five-time All-Star has career averages of 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 boards per game.
On the other end, Westbrook reportedly wanted to land in Washington and play next to sharpshooter Bradley Beal.
Westbrook, 32, gathered 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in his sole season in Houston. However, he had more interest in being the main man than being on a superb team.
As for Harden, he reportedly wants to move on to the Brooklyn Nets. The 2018 MVP is one of the best players in the league.
The Rockets aren’t going to just hand away Harden. Instead, the franchise has bolstered its roster with the recent acquisitions of Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Christian Wood.
