The Rockets, who traded Russell Westbrook to the Wizards for John Wall and a future first-round pick during the 2020 offseason, would be amenable to reacquiring Westbrook from the Lakers if the deal included “sufficient draft compensation,” Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.
Stein hears from sources that Houston would want the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick (the only first-rounder L.A. can trade due to the Stepien rule) in a Wall-for-Westbrook swap, though he says it’s possible the Rockets would accept multiple second-rounders.
This report doesn’t come as a surprise. After all, Wall has been inactive and on the trade block for a half-season already and there has been no indication the Rockets will be able to find a deal that nets them any positive assets for the veteran guard.
An eventual buyout appears to be the most likely resolution for Wall and the Rockets, so acquiring a player with a virtually identical contract (Wall and Westbrook are each earning $44MM+ this season, with a $47MM+ player option for 2022/23) and getting a draft pick or two in the process would be a massive win for Houston.
It may seem odd that the Rockets would have any interest in reacquiring Westbrook, given that they’re in the midst of a rebuild and their previous union with the nine-time All-Star didn’t work out especially well. But Westbrook almost certainly wouldn’t play any more for Houston than Wall has this season — any deal would be all about the draft assets. In other words, you could substitute any player’s name for Westbrook’s in the headline of this story and it would still be true.
While it’s easy to see why the Rockets would be motivated to explore another Wall/Westbrook swap, it’s harder to justify it from the Lakers’ perspective, a fact Stein acknowledges within his report.
As awkward a fit as Westbrook has been in Los Angeles, there’s no guarantee that Wall – who has dealt with a series of leg injuries in recent years and hasn’t played in a game since last April – would be any better. L.A. would also be selling extremely low on Westbrook, who came on strong during the second half of his first and only season in Washington in 2020/21.
[RELATED: Russell Westbrook “Surprised” By Crunch-Time Benching]
If the Lakers are willing to move their 2027 first-rounder and/or multiple second-round picks, there are better deals to be made. According to Stein, the Pistons haven’t shown any interest in trading Jerami Grant for a package of Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and the Lakers’ 2027 pick, but Grant is one of the hottest names on this season’s trade market — there will be other options available for Los Angeles that don’t involve the team rolling the dice on a player (Wall) whose 2021/22 cap hit ($44.3MM) exceeds his total games played over the last three seasons (40).
April Fools in January …. or just fools.
I’d repeat Wall for Westbrook straight up trade once a year until 2030
Now they have equal trade value
The purpose to make them happy
Today both players are not happy
I don’t get it. What is wall better at that Westbrook is better at? Defense maybe?
Trade just to make a trade.
Not even that. His defensive BPM is lower than Westbrook’s for their entire respective careers. He’s even a worse or equivalent shooter.
DBPM relies on ending the other team’s possessions via steals, blocks and def rebounds. Russ definitely rebounds more but the stat has nothing to do with one on one defending.
Rockets believe that the worst contract in the nba is Westbrook
Houston is saying no reason to make the trade as a favor to Lakers. Want the trade give us something in return.
I haven’t ever seen Westbrook dance, so I’ll guess he isn’t as good as Wall at that.
Westy and Cam Payne used have dance battles in OKC. Even there dance skills are the same.
Said this yesterday — Russ + (2) seconds for RWB makes sense.
Houston: Get something for nothing
LAL: Get a Russ equivalent who is actually willing to be a role player
For those saying Wall is worse than Russ…please look at Wall’s stats last year then compare to Russ this year. Nearly 1:1
lmao wall was a horrible defender
Wizards sent Wall and a 1st to the Rockets for Westy. If the Rockets can now trade the other way and grab another 1st that will go down as one of the best robberies ever.
That get a 1 both ways, Pelinka might as well clear out his office.
And still nothing to show for it.
You could also make the argument that Wall’s stats last year were not that great because it was his first year back after a major injury.
1. (rct) and 2. Wall is more likely to be on Lebron’s wavelength.
Maybe it is hard to gauge the “wavelength factor” but if one assumes that RW is not on anyone’s wavelength and plays on an island, which seems clear, then Wall must be better.
And if Wall is better, HOW DOES THAT NOT MATTER?
The Lakers will not be either man’s team, so fitting in is the issue.
There some hapless answers up there to “What would Wall do better”! He would fit with Lebron better.
The RW trade was dumb from the getgo.
Does not matter, since Houston will sit on Wall without unless they get some candy, and LAL has little extra. Should be illegal. Contracts should be for allocating talent, not sitting on talent.
Also, as arc89 says, Rockets will not want to help Lakers, so trading the better fit is not likely.
imagine giving up a 1st round pick to acquire a worse player.
not even a worse player, but ones who’s basically retired and was overrated in his prime
Mavs reporters like Westbrook. They are talking about
1. Westbrook salary $92 million
2. Efficiency 43%, 30%
3. Bad fit
You don’t talk about these if you really like him.
Lakers just need to accept they are done and happily take their first rd loss if they survive the play in tournament! Wall is way to washed up to save them from that fate and the pick in 2027 is something lakers will need when lebron is long gone
If I’m the Lakers, I outright ignore this proposal. Wall is equivalent or worse at everything compared to Westbrook at this point in their respective careers. The draft compensation makes the trade even worse for LA. Yeah, Westbrook isn’t good this year, but Wall is literally just a mystery box at this point.
It’s not a proposal. The Rockets would simply be interested if it was brought to them. The Lakers shouldn’t do it.
Nobody wants to help out the Lakers. Both player more likely to gets bought out next year.
This confirms just how untradeable Westbrook is.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Westbrook trade this past summer moved them from contenders to pretenders.
The untradability of both Russ and Wall is exhibited in the fact they’ve been traded for one another already.
It would be too funny if these guys who be traded for each other yet again.
If I’m the Lakers, I might as well do this if the draft compensation wouldn’t be all that much. What do they have to lose? No one else is going to take on Westbrook. At least with Wall you don’t have to worry about the public pouting and the extreme ball-hogging tendencies.
Either way, they are toast.
Lakers submitted a poor offer of THT, Nunn, and their 2027 1st for Jerami Grant
It sounds like an overpay to me, at the end of the day Grant is just a bum, why would anyone give anything for him?
Westbrook back to the ROCKETS basically destroys any meager progress or development they have, thus ensuring the tank. Genius.
He would never suit up for the Rockets if the trade did happen
Only in that case would I accept the trade from the Rockets’ perspective. Dead money either way but at least you get some compensation. Otherwise it’s just trading one unhappy past superstar for another which does nothing for you.
Believe me — if Wall isn’t playing there’s a less than 0 chance Russ would
Rockets just having a laugh at the Lakers it seems.
Rockets if they are real about trading Wall should hit up contenders who are having a bad season like the Celtics or Clippers
They’d never get the 1st
2 2nd’s maybe.
The benching vs Indiana could be a litmus test to see how Russ reacts when things go off the rail a tad. Put the ball in his court the next 2 weeks and let him seal his own fate for better or worse. Time is now to see if RW gets chirpy….If this rolls into the summer Rambis will certainly lose his last 2 Homer Simpson hairs on his head and we just can’t have that
Shame Orl doesn’t have 2 Gary Harris contracts instead of 1 right now. They almost work for the Lakers but unless they just completely want to wash their hands with Fultz it’s Hou or LAL for Russ
Agreed. Said something similar last night.
As unappealing as the Wall contract is he at least acknowledges that he is now a role player. Will see if Russ does the same
Orlando already has too many PGs on their team. Unless they would buy him out and take the hit, I’m still not sure it’s a deal worth draft picks.
Would be b/o Padam , but yea the matching is difficult with Orl unless they viewed Fultz a complete sunk cost today (doubtful)
Leaves me wondering why OKC didn’t add or trade for a big underwater contract in the offseason like say a KLove – They’d be able to reflip w Favors today for LA’s unprotected 27′ 1st which could be very good. If I was Okc ida looked to add some beef on the ledger for these moments. As it stands they can’t really accommodate anything BIG like this for assets
They could also do something like
Wall+Gordon for RW Tht and Nunn
Not a huge Tht believer but he certainly needs to be on a team with wide open spaces to get where he needs to be rather than a playoff rotation player
That a terrible trade . Two older vets for two young players and Russ no tank you . If you want to
Give up nunn and tht at least get something of value. Tht only 21 and only can improve. Dude can easily be a 15+ player a night . Nunn when healthy can get 15 + a night . Like he did with the heat
You see THT this year?
Gordon is a MUCH better fit than Nunn or THT — he’s a 2 way player who’s in the midst of a career year shooting. If the shooting even close to holds, this is a move that could make them at least fringe contenders.
Idk what you could get for Nunn – who needs a PG? He’s not a starter on a good team. THT has shown nothing to validate the $ they gave him. I loved his potential but it seems so far like he’s not gonna even close to reach what I thought.
Wall salary is $500K higher than Westbrook
Rockets want the world to see the trade value of Westbrook
Westbrook
Thunder trade you to start over
Rockets trade you for a do not play player
Wizards trade you to Lakers
Lakers want to trade you back to Rockets
I will live in a different city every day for a year for 40+ million dollars.
Stein just looking for subscribers to his sub stack. Of course Houston would love the draft picks. Of course the Lakers aren’t giving them away. Dumb
Not a Westbrook fan but still think Rockets would need to give up additional assets, not Lakers
Even if true, why would a tanking team give up anything of value to take on an equal boat boat anchor contract that does you no good?
Might as well keep the boat anchor you got and buy him out.
It’s not talent vs talent. It’s about fit, which is the RW problem in the first place. Lakers don’t deal, they won’t get far. Rox won’t get far anyway.
Trade for Westbrook and he sits? Wall does what for the lakers? Rumors damm the logic let’s look a the effects.
These contracts are disastrous. Both guys have player options for next year around $45-47 mil. Why would they consider a buyout when they can sit out or whatever. Westbrook has more time than Wall. If Wall was bought out say, with (half way thru season, $20 mil left this year) he takes $10, he’d need to recover almost a $60m contract. Who would offer Wall that, so he can break even? His health is more risky than RW. But if you do the same math for RW, maybe a team does 4 yr $15m/yr with a team option and possible non-guarantee. But that’s just to break even. I think Wall could help the Lakers more, but Westbrook has more left in the tank. I’d be surprised if either accepted a buyout. I think the league still has stretch provision which would be the only option for either guy. If that option is available then Houston has more assets to attach with that, to say OKC to eat that money along with assets. LAL is super limited on assets and not enticing to anyone.
Something needs to be done to enable teams to get out of this easier…yes they messed up by making the deal, but part of the problem is the way the CBA works to begin with.
Neither team signed these guys, but now we have a situation where Wall doesn’t play? He’s a starting caliber player with limited years left. Yeah he could take a buyout, but it would be dumb to do financially. What’s the solution? Players should not sit like this.
It’s a tough issue—the whole point of the max contract was to avoid guys getting wildly overpaid.
Wall & Westbrook show the two dual faults of the max:
1) The guy who isn’t a top 15 player but who will get the max because teams have to pay someone (and incumbent teams can’t afford to lose top 40 players for nothing). So you have guys like John Wall getting paid like Steph Curry—even before the injuries that was ridiculous.
2) The guy who IS a top 15 player but who inevitably declines as he enters his 30s.
Net result is the majority of guys who get the max become negative value contracts before they hit FA again.
As I always say the big money shouldn’t go to declining guys in their 30’s, like Curry or Dame!
The big money should go for the young guys after their RSC get the big contract, next one a smaller & next smaller & so on… so basically you pay the guys the most while they are at their peak, instead now guys can only be paid the most when they are about 30, which by then you shouldn’t offer them more than 1 or 2 year deals… such a ludicrously bad system for old guys to get paid more, then teams punish them by not playing them!
Adam – OKC is the usual answer but they don’t have any matching abilities this year
NBA is pretty good with get outta jail cards relative to other major sports leagues. If Lakers had 2 future firsts rather than 1 they could dissolve RW pretty easily
If the Lakers did this, they would complete and utter fools… the Rockets would still buy out Westbrook.. he would probably sign with the Suns or Clippers… they would give up ANY draft capital for the next 5 seasons (which is Knicks level stupidity)… and they would end up with someone who fits just as poorly as Westbrook did….. all that being said.. the Lakers are that stupid and this will probably happen lol
Exactly
It’s not talent vs talent. It’s about fit, which is the RW problem in the first place. Lakers don’t deal, they won’t get far. Rox won’t get far anyway.
Lakers would only look like fools if they don’tmake second round. More likely, most of these posters look like fools.
FIT FIT FIT
RW has none on Lakers
Prior to the season this was a joke and rightfully so. But now? I’m not so sure.
The problem with Russ is two-fold:
a) He’s been a net negative on the court in his role
b) It’s politically difficult to remove him from the court
Wall might be a (very slight) improvement just in his willingness to play a 6th man role opposite LeBron. He can’t be worse than having …. Avery Bradley run the point in those minutes.
And c) his motor died.
Wall is also better in the bone-headed plays department… Russ has had by far the better career, but his play in close games has been atrocious. Wall at least doesn’t F up nearly as much.
Wall asked the Rockets if he could start playing they said sure if you willing to come off the bench and he said no to that role. Why would he agree to come off the bench in LA besides the fact he’d still be the Lakers 3rd best player.
Russ is odd. I’ve never been a fan but he plays with passion and a chip on his shoulder. He’s crazy clutch at times especially in his OKC days when he’d just drag the Thunder to wins post-Durant pre-George. In fact at the end of last season he picked the Wizards and put them on his shoulders and willed them into play-in after Beal went down. I know people say he plays for stats but I don’t believe that. He wants to win. Westbrook’s problem is he still believes he’s the answer even when he has LeBron on the team.
Lol… Houston is funny. I mean I hope Houston just pays him 2 years for nothing and no one bails them out. I feel a tiny bit bad for Wall, but hes making 90M over 2 years so not really. His prime is done after this contract. Hell be what 33 when hes a FA? I mean 2 years wasted after suffering those injuries. The worst thing he did from strictly a basketball standpoint was signing that contract, best thing financially tho.
You can build a trade that works without the Lakers having to give up a 1st or THT.
Lakers get Wall.
Pacers get Westbrick, LAL 2nd, Suns 2022 1st via Thunder.
Rockets get expiring contracts of Lamb, Warren, and Favors. Agree to BO with all 3 or package in other trades for worse contracts to acquire picks.
Thunder get LeVert.
Suns pick is currently 30th, most expendable of the Thunder 1sts.
Lakers can deal THT and their 27 1st elsewhere.
Not sure it’s worth dealing for Wall in the first place tho. But the trade works.
You’re suggesting the Pacers give up both Lavert AND Warren in exchange for…. Westbrook and basically two 2nd round picks? Wow.
Sure…get Westbrick and assign him to the G-League, he most defenitly needs to work on his game
In G-league, It takes one year for Westbrook to work on his defense and efficiency
He can option out in summer, then re-sign a 4 years contract with Lakers for $120 million (like Chris Paul)
Westbrook played very well last night, hopefully he’s turning a corner and we can head into the second half on a high note. Once AD gets back we’ll have to see how things shape up but at least he’s handling this professionally and that is a glimmer of hope for what has otherwise been a disappointing season to date
I don’t understand why either team would do this. Trading one horrible bad contract for another? Plus draft capital? Two of worst contracts in the NBA right now. Wall is two years younger, but is he that much of an upgrade? There has to be something else at work here. Wall isn’t THAT much of an upgrade and this team is going nowhere. They need the draft capital. Mortgaging a future for a slight upgrade…I don’t know.