Report: Houston Agrees to Trade Russell Westbrook to Washington for John Wall

The teams' GMs reportedly hadn't talked for weeks until connecting on Wednesday afternoon, when the deal was finalized within hours.

The Rockets have reportedly agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Wizards for John Wall and a 2023 projected first-round pick, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

At its core, this high-profile trade mirrors a swap of super max extensions. Both players have three years and roughly $131 million remaining on their near-identical contracts, with each player holding an option to opt into the third year for $47 million. 

The swap of the super max extensions:

Russell Westbrook to Washington

$41.4M, $44.2M and $47.1M (P)

John Wall to Houston

$41.3M, $44.3M and $47.4M (P)

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) December 3, 2020

Reports of Houston and Washington discussing this deal started circling two weeks ago, and while no details were revealed at the time, Charania reported that the Rockets were seeking more assets.

The first-round pick acquired by Houston is lottery-protected in 2023, Charania reports, with the protections steadily reducing until the pick would translate to two second-rounders if it isn't conveyed by 2026.

Sources: Protection on the first-round pick that the Wizards traded to Houston in Russell Westbrook/John Wall trade: 2023, Lottery; 2024, Top 12; 2025, Top 10; 2026, Top 8; then becomes two second-rounders.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 3, 2020

Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star, reportedly expressed interest in joining another team following the departure of former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and coach Mike D'Antoni. 

The 32-year-old spent last season with the Rockets after being traded from the Thunder in the offseason. Houston gave up Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, and pick swaps in 2021 and 2025 to acquire Westbrook last July.

A two-time NBA scoring champion, Westbrook averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 rebounds in the 2019-20 season. 

Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has not played in an NBA game since December 2018. The 30-year-old had surgery for bone spurs in his left heel, but he tore his left Achilles tendon during rehab and had another operation in 2019.

The two GM's -- Washington's Tommy Sheppard and Houston's Rafael Stone -- hadn't talked in weeks on the deal, but connected this afternoon and had a deal done within a few hours, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/qmuPclNoU5

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 3, 2020

Trade chatter surrounding Houston will now likely shift to James Harden. However, ESPN's Tim McMahon reports that the Rockets aim to keep their longtime star guard and hope to be competitive with him leading the show this season.

Rockets source: Stance on James Harden has not changed. Houston hopes to be competitive with him this season and does not envision a scenario where Harden would be traded before the opener.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 3, 2020