Houston Rockets trade Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook

The Houston Rockets have just made some serious noise. They made a trade for the 2016-17 Most Valuable Player to the team.

So much for a quiet offseason. The Houston Rockets have officially traded for Russell Westbrook in a deal involving Chris Paul. I am completely in shock writing this right now, it was truly a surprising move that came almost out of nowhere.

The Rockets took a quieter approach to this trade after being super vocal about pursuing Jimmy Butler earlier in the offseason. It worked out for them in the end, though, as they got the guy that Morey really wanted on the team. Houston was also the preferred destination for Westbrook after he lost his teammate Paul George to the Clippers.

Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti worked with Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, to deliver the former MVP to his preferred destination: A reunion with James Harden, per sources.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2019

Daryl Morey has long pursued stars to join the squad and has done so successfully on multiple occasions. This is another player to add to the list, securing the 2016-17 MVP and triple-double machine Russell Westbrook.

The fit is obviously questionable. Russ is pretty horrible at shooting from distance and is another ball-dominant guy. He did a decent job of relegating his duties last season to Paul George, though, so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

The Rockets now have a legitimate second star to pair with James Harden in a league that prioritizes that right now. It reunites the two good friends together, sadly at the departure of Chris Paul. CP3 has done a lot for the franchise in his two seasons in Houston and was a hamstring injury away from potentially winning a ring here. He will be missed, but the Rockets and Daryl Morey are gunning for a retool.

There is a ton to say on this topic, and I’m sure there will be many more articles pertaining it on this website. For now, let this soak in: Russell Westbrook is a Houston Rocket.