Home NBA Who won the John Wall-Westbrook trade?

Who won the John Wall-Westbrook trade?

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles against Washington Wizards guard John Wall, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Washington. The Wizards won 120-98. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Russell Westbrook has been traded to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a 2023 first round pick. This has been made out to be a much bigger trade than what it actually is, and I’m going to tell you why.

First of all, Wall and Westbrook are both quite similar players in terms of playstyle. They are both super athletic, both great passers and both ball centric guards. They also both lack a good three point shot which is their main weakness as a point guard in today’s NBA. However, with John Wall having so much time off due to injury, it’s likely he will come back with a better 3 point shot but at the same time, his athleticism may have diminished. Only time will tell.

Next, I’m going to talk about their contracts. Wall and Westbrook are both on two of the most expensive contracts in the NBA. Wall will earn $40,824,000 million this year and Westbrook will earn $41,006,000 million. Because they were both owed insane amounts of money, it put most teams off signing them and since they both wanted to be traded, the only option was to be traded for each other as their trade values are relatively low.

Finally, I’m going to talk about how neither of them will be on a championship contending team. With a James Harden trade to the Brooklyn Nets still looking likely, this will take the Rockets out of Championship contention completely as they will be rebuilding and their only star will be John Wall. As for the Wizards, they should certainly make the playoffs with the duo of Bradley Beal and Westbrook, but with how strong the East now is, I’d be surprised if they make it out the second round.

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