Chris Paul–Russell Westbrook Trade Still Haunts Rockets
The Houston Rockets have long moved past their rebuilding phase. That topic rarely comes up anymore, as the team continues to benefit from the draft assets secured in previous trades. Their collection includes the Phoenix Suns' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, which came from the 2021 James Harden deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
However, Houston’s 2026 first-round pick is owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, unless it lands in the top four. If the Rockets end up keeping it, that would signal a deeply disappointing season. Most likely, the pick will end up with the Thunder — a consequence of the 2019 Russell Westbrook trade that sent Chris Paul and multiple picks to Oklahoma City.
A Costly Gamble in Retrospect
The Westbrook move gave Houston only one season of the former MVP. Ironically, that same year Chris Paul’s Thunder team matched the Rockets with a 44–28 record. Their postseason clash turned into a grueling seven-game series that ended with both sides battered and Houston barely advancing.
“In July 2019, the Rockets were clinging to fading hopes of making a championship run with James Harden and tried this deal out of desperation. It effectively flatlined those dreams for good and shifted everything for the franchise. Westbrook was always a strange choice to slot alongside Harden.”
Bleacher Report labeled it as a deal that continues to haunt Houston even in 2025, marking it as one of the franchise’s most ill-fated moves of the era.
Legacy of a Misstep
What was meant to be a last push for title contention instead reshaped the Rockets’ future entirely, leaving them to rebuild around the remnants of decisions made years prior.
Author's Summary: A desperate 2019 trade pairing Russell Westbrook with James Harden left the Houston Rockets burdened years later, its ripple effects still shaping the team’s fate in 2025.
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