The arrival of Russell Westbrook to Houston last July suddenly catapulted the Rockets to title contention, at least on paper. The hopes are high that Westbrook with James Harden on the roster will make it easier for the Rockets to reach the Finals and perhaps even win. That playing out might be easier said than done.
Such was the suggestion made by Ryen Russillo of The Ringer. The Rockets it seemed are losing sight on the benefits they would have gained in pairing two former MVPs on the floor.
"I think Westbrook is available. We can talk about semantics, of course, Daryl Morey would trade anyone if he thought it made his team better. Of course, he would trade Westbrook if he could get off of that long-term money," NBC Sports reported Russillo as saying.
Per the same report, it might have dawned on Houston that what they got with Westbrook is "a duplicative skill set," meaning he merely brought with him things that Harden can already do. As a result, the duo touted to be explosive when on the floor at the same time, failed to live up to expectations, and mostly true on the part of Westbrook.
The Houston situation at the moment is Harden plays better when Westbrook sits on the bench, and then the latter is the one out on the floor, the team most likely requires relief from Harden.
"Houston has performed better when James Harden plays without Westbrook than when Harden plays with Westbrook. Westbrook-led lineups have struggled when Harden sits," the report noted.
And when the numbers for both players are compared, it would seem Harden enjoys a hefty advantage though Westbrook is not lagging behind. However, it is in the area of accuracy where Westbrook is clearly struggling as his stats so far indicated his overall performance is way below his career average, according to Fox Sports.
"The Russell Westbrook experiment isn't exactly flying in Houston ... Houston hasn't quite hit the heights they probably hoped they would when they traded for Westbrook in the offseason," the report said.
This was evident in the team's recent loss to the Warriors. Westbrook made 30 points, hauled down 12 rebounds, and issued five assists. But his accuracy was atrocious - he only sank 11 of 32 attempts and failed to convert on threes.
So from the look of things, Russillo's claim seemed credible enough, that Houston is looking to trade Westbrook but may find such a mission hard to accomplish because "the former MVP has a lucrative contract which other teams in the league are likely hesitant to take on," according to Clutch Points.
Sure enough, anyone interested will need to think hard on absorbing these facts - Westbrook is only the second year of a five-year contract that entitles him a total pay of $206 million. And he is 31, a level that in NBA is clearly considered as aging.
