Westbrook happy to land in Houston after Thunder tenure
Russell Westbrook matched t he Rockets backdrop. His black suit jacket opened to reveal a white Inner City shirt with red lettering.
“What can you say that those of us who only know you as an opponent don't know about you,” a reporter asked, “something that you'd like for people to know?”
“That I'm a nice guy,” he said.
Westbrook pa used for laughs.
Friday marked just the second time in Westbrook's NBA career that he was introduced as a new member of a team. After 11 seasons in OKC, Westbrook faced a new media contingent — a group he'd encountered before on trips to
Houston but not on a daily basis — at his Rockets introductory press conference. He sat beside a new general manager, the second he had worked with in his career. It was Westbrook's first big step in transitioning from Thunder player to Rocket in the public eye.
The Thunder and Rockets made the trade official last week: Westbrook to Houston f or Chris Paul, two first-round draft picks ( 2024 and 2026) and t he right to two first-round pick swaps (2021 and 2025).
“When I play basketball, I' m going out there to compete,” Westbrook continued.
“I'm going out there to be able to win. And I don't care how that looks. And I' m always going to stay that way, but I think off the floor for me it's a huge thing, figuring out and understanding t hat I am human, I am a human being, and I am a good person, just so you guys know.”
Even Paul George, who was close with Westbrook during his two years in OKC, said this past season that as an opponent, i t's easy to think of Westbrook as an unpleasant guy. (George's actual words were more colorful.)
“But when you get to know him and you're on the same side as him, you know what it stems from,” George said. “He's a competitor, and that's what it comes down to.”
Westbrook already has a shoo-in with his new team mates. Rockets star James Harden helped sell Houston to Westbrook — “James is persistent if he wants something done,” Westbrook said. The two greater Los Angeles natives have known each other since childhood and played together in Oklahoma City for three seasons.
But the Rockets fans — many of whom, along with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, questioned the legitimacy of Westbrook's 2017 MVP victory after he beat Hard en for the award — and media didn't have that kind of history with Westbrook.
Officially representing the Rockets for the first time Friday, Westbrook balanced honoring Oklahoma City and committing to Houston. The news conference moved straight into questions after Morey gave opening remarks. So West brook used the second question — about the opportunity to play with Hard en in Houston—to pivot into thanking OKC.
“Ah man, it's tough,” he said later in the news conference .“It' s something that will stick with me the rest of my life because I basically grew up there in Oklahoma City. … The people, the organization, never did me wrong. They always stood up for me and my family and always had my back. I'm very grateful, and I don't take that for granted.”
Westbrook's demeanor throughout the press conference didn't hint at the seismic shift in his career. He mixed serious answers, about meshing his playing style with Harden and the Rockets', with dry humor.
“It's hot as hell, I'll tell you that,” Westbrook said when asked about adjusting to the city of Houston.
He touched on themes familiar to those who followed him in OKC: No, he was not worried about anything on the court.
“Obviously the change is different, especially with having kids and figuring out what's best for them,” he said. “I think that's always the main concern.”
His goal, as always, was a championship.
But the familiarity almost made the disconnect more jarring after 11 years of associating Westbrook with the Thunder.
“I only care about one team ,” Westbrook said when asked about how the competition stacks up in a rapidly- changing NBA, “and that' s the Houston Rockets. Everybody else is not in my worries.”