Rockets’ James Harden is the driving force behind reunion with Russell Westbrook despite fit concerns

Another day, another massive NBA bombshell. On Thursday night, the Houston Rockets once again swung for the fences by acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Chris Paul. Both players recently signed huge contracts with their teams not too long ago, and Westbrook, in particular, is hard to visualize in another jersey other than the Thunder’s. For the Rockets, this move allows the team to pair up Westbrook with his former Thunder teammate James Harden.

Apparently, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Harden was a “driving force” in getting this deal done:

James Harden was a driving force in this deal, I’m told. Russell Westbrook and Harden decides they wanted to reunite and Rockets made it happen despite some questions about fit now that Harden is so ball dominant. Houston believes ceiling is higher with Russ than CP3.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 12, 2019

While it seems odd that the two players that are #1 and #2 in single-season usage rate (Westbrook is #1 for his MVP season of 2016-17, Harden is #2 with his rate from last season), Harden wanted to reunite with Westbrook and see if there was still a spark left over from when the two were teammates on OKC.

This time, though, it seems likely that Russ will have to be the one that steps aside a bit and allows Harden to still be the ball-dominant rock-pounder that he has been the past few seasons.

Houston’s offense is completely reliant on Harden’s astonishing scoring efficiency in isolation, and he needs shooters or rim-runners around him at all times to thrive. Westbrook is neither of those things, but Harden must believed that the Rockets’ ceiling is higher with Westbrook than it would’ve been with Chris Paul.

This is still a surprising move, but there is no question that the Rockets will remain in the limelight for next season and beyond – as both Harden and Westbrook are locked up on long extensions for the foreseeable future.

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