Though their talks have stalled a bit in recent days, the Houston Rockets have reportedly had discussions with the Orlando Magic about the idea of a package trade that would include Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports shared news of these discussions between the Rockets and Magic on Friday morning, noting that the idea did not gain much traction:
Yahoo Sources: The Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic had discussed a trade featuring Russell Westbrook for a package centered around Aaron Gordon, but talks never progressed.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 20, 2020
Westbrook may want to be traded from the Rockets, but no deals have come to fruition as of yet. Loads of teams would love to have a player of his caliber, but his hefty contract often gets in the way of any potential deal. The 32-year-old All-Star is owed $131 million over the next three seasons and has a $46.7 million player option in 2022-23.
In his 57 appearances last regular season, The Brodie racked up averages of 27.2 points on 47.2 percent shooting from the field (25.8 percent from beyond the arc), 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Those numbers were down a bit form his triple-double seasons, but they are still impressive.
Alongside James Harden, who is also hearing his name tossed about quite a bit, the Rockets made it all the way to the 2020 Western Conference Semifinals, where they were ultimately defeated by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Westbrook and Harden are concerned about the direction in which the Rockets are heading. Former head coach Mike D’Antoni left the team on Sept. 13 after their second-round playoff exit. And roughly one month later, general manager Daryl Morey stepped down from his role.
For now, it seems we’ll have to wait and see if the Rockets find a suitable trade partner for Russell Westbrook.
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