Another fortunate detail of the nightmare Russell Westbrook trade has been finalized

The Houston Rockets gave up Chris Paul, two first-round draft picks, and two first-round swaps to acquire Russell Westbrook in 2019, which included a swap the Thunder elected not to use in 2025. Houston did not covey either swap right to OKC from this trade. It took four subsequent trades, including the most recent deal that allowed Brooklyn to get their draft capital back to make this a reality. None of that changes the Rockets' regret in making this move.

Houston’s time with CP3 ran its course. The Rockets may have defeated the Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference Finals if Paul did not injure his hamstring. In 2019, the Dubs sounded defeated James Harden and Paul in the second round. It was time to make a change, and Daryl Morey decided to take a massive swing on Westbrook.

The future Hall of Famer lasted just one season in Houston before the roster completely split up. Westbrook made third-team All-NBA, but the Lakers dominated them in the second round of the playoffs inside the bubble. The Rockets were pushed by CP3 and a Thunder squad nobody expected to make the playoffs in the opening round. Houston sold low on Westbrook, which makes the trade for Paul look even worse.

Rockets’ trade package for Russell Westbrook looks slightly better

Here is a full breakdown of the Paul for Westbrook trade from 2019. It is worth noting the Thunder swapped first-round picks in 2025 with the Clippers in the Paul George trade, so they actually got a higher pick and left the Rockets with 27th overall here.

• Rockets received: Russell Westbrook
• Thunder received: Chris Paul, Nikola Topic, 2026 1st round pick

The 25th overall pick has been impacted by the Russ/CP3 trade, the Paul George trade, Harden being traded to the Nets, Kevin Durant's deal to the Suns, and the Nets and Rockets pick swap. Ultimately, the Rockets kept it in-house from the original deal and just sent it to Brooklyn in the summer of 2024.

The return looks slightly better, but Paul played better than Westbrook after this trade. He helped the Thunder make a surprise playoff appearance in 2020 and had the Suns in the NBA Finals in 2021. To give up the superior player and two first-round draft picks certainly hurts. At least neither of the swaps went into effect to further haunt Houston.

The Rockets went into a full rebuild after trading Russ and Harden. They are just coming out the other side. Houston made the playoffs in 2025 and is looking to make a blockbuster trade for a star this offseason. Getting back to title contention is the goal.

The Russell Westbrook trade set the franchise back and should serve as a reminder for the current front office. This was the price of trying to stay in contention, but it doesn’t always work. It is important to leave yourself an out and be sure to evaluate fit.

The current Houston Rockets cannot repeat this mistake. They got lucky the return was not worse with a pick swap this year, but it is still a nightmare. One that gets worse if history repeats itself.