For the third time in as many years, Russell Westbrook will have a new home. As in the previous offseason, the transfer comes at his behest. He thought he would thrive with the Rockets, only to find his small-ball partnership with top dog James Harden crash and burn at the hands of the rampaging Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. And, based on information making the grapevine, he bristled in the absence of organizational and personal accountability 鈥 made all the more evident with the departures of head coach Mike D鈥橝ntoni and general manager Daryl Morey 鈥 enough to push for yet another change of scenery.
Demanding to be dealt and actually being dealt are, of course, two different things. And, in Westbrook鈥檚 case, it wasn鈥檛 simply because he comes with a prohibitively expensive contract that any potential trade partner for the Rockets would need to match. More importantly, it was due to his advancing age and diminishing effectiveness; for all the upward ticks in his numbers while playing Robin to Harden鈥檚 Batman, he remained a polarizing presence in the face of his poor shooting and ball-dominant predilections.
In this regard, the Rockets were fortunate to have latched on to a deal that granted Westbrook his wish. The Wizards just so happened to be in the same boat, with erstwhile foundational piece John Wall likewise wanting out. And, lo and behold, the salaries and contract duration even match. It didn鈥檛 even matter much that the latter hasn鈥檛 suited up in close to two years and will be coming off rehabilitation from a ruptured Achilles鈥 tendon; a heavily protected first-round pick was all it took for franchise owner Tilman Fertitta and the new dispensation to agree to the trade.
And so Westbrook will once again be in a novel situation with the Wizards. On second thought, perhaps it won鈥檛 be too much of an adjustment; as was the case during his time with Paul George and Harden, he鈥檒l be playing second fiddle in the offense he鈥檚 joining, what with Bradley Beal already the established centerpiece. Not that anything has ever really stopped him from being, well, himself. On the court, he has continued to do what he wants while in the moment, with little or no regard to the system he鈥檚 in.
Clearly, the Wizards are hoping Westbrook has learned from his experience 鈥 at least to the point where he鈥檚 willing to make concessions in pursuit of collective objectives. As well he should; after all, his future is at stake. There鈥檚 a reason the market reacted tepidly when his desire for new digs made the news last month, and while he remains confident of his capacity to deliver, he cannot possibly be blind to the increasing gap between belief and reality. The question, to be sure, isn鈥檛 if he will finally admit to his frailties. It鈥檚 when 鈥 which makes the answer anybody鈥檚 guess.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
