Jury out on trade for Wall, but a bold move was needed
Those who can do. Those who can’t aren’t very good NBA general managers. And they don’t last long.
On Wednesday night, new Rockets GM Rafael Stone pulled the trigger on a trade that is both smart and risky. It already has been fascinating to see how Stone has gone about building a roster.
In some ways, it is like he’s wearing a WWDD band on his wrist. But simply asking, “What would Daryl (Morey) do?” doesn’t get it done.
Stone has put in some
serious work in his few weeks on the job. Of course, not all of the transactions will work, but his aggressive moves signify an approach that is quite familiar.
Clearly, he hasn’t moved away from the franchise’s long-stated goal of being a contender. The Rockets haven’t believed in a tank-and-rebuild project since winning the 1984 coin flip for Hakeem Olajuwon.
How much of a contender the trade of Russell Westbrook for John Wall and a first-round draft pick will make the Rockets can be debated, but the intent is clear.
In a way, it had to be done, yet the fallout will determine the direction of the franchise for the next few years. This wasn’t quite pushing in all of the chips, but a significant amount of the Rockets’ stack is at stake with this move.
The contractual match — Westbrook and Wall each will earn some $133 million over the next three seasons — made this a deal that could be done. The willingness to pull it off is a test many would fail.
Because this isn’t a nobrainer.
Washington thinks it won the deal. Stone and the Rockets feel the same way.
The verdict will come over the course of the next few years and will depend largely on Wall’s health and how he fits with James Harden.
Oh, and just as importantly, whether his arrival assuages Harden’s dissatisfaction with even being a Rocket, something he expressed in recently asking to be traded to Brooklyn.
New coach Stephen Silas said Thursday he is confident Harden will be “all-in” when the Rockets have their first full practice Sunday. reports that There Harden have been preferred Wall over his childhood friend Westbrook, which is good news for the Rockets.
The additions of Christian Wood, DeMarcus Cousins and Wall should immediately improve the Rockets on the defensive end, where the team was particularly deficient last season.
On paper, that is. Because of two major injuries (Achilles, torn ACL) Cousins hasn’t played in 18 months and has participated in only 30 games since January 2018.
When the season begins just before Christmas, Wall will have gone two full years without having played in an NBA game.
His last appearance was Dec. 26, 2018. The season before that, he was an All-NBA pick.
Since, Wall has had surgery on his left heel and then the Achilles tendon on the same foot. He has said the time away allowed him to get fully healthy, as he had played several seasons with bone spurs in his foot and knee.
He has been full-speed at practice for some time, and players and coaches say he looks good. One of the fastest players with the ball in the NBA, a top-speed Wall is a star. The same goes for Westbrook.
Though both are highlevel performers, Wall brings a playing style more adaptable than Westbrook’s. Wall has averaged just one more assist per game than Westbrook (9.2 to 8.3), but those numbers tell a fib, as Westbrook is more of a lone wolf.
With Harden and Westbrook on the floor, the Rockets had two alpha wolves fighting over a single ball. Wall likes the ball as well, but he has a more versatile style than Westbrook.
That said, there was a stretch of time last season when Westbrook was dominant. Harden stepped back and let him work. That was when the Rockets were at their best.
Westbrook’s inability to get back into that flow when the season restarted after the pandemic shutdown brought about the same questions as Chris Paul’s slide late in the previous season.
Cousins said he believes Wall will take the load off Harden during games and over the course of the season, which should benefit the Rockets’ best player late in contests and during the playoffs. But only if Harden is willing to share the stage.
Wall comes with questions as well and not just on the injury front.
A new setting should help, as the soap opera coverage of his relationship with Bradley Beal had started to wear on him.
Then again, joining up with Harden could be like he moved from Pine Valley to Port Charles.
This will make the third backcourt mate for Harden in three seasons. The previous two star characters were written off the show without a championship or even a run to the Finals.
When Westbrook asked out, Stone went looking for a good deal and might have found one.
That’s what good GMs do.