No chance for Miami: Westbrook to Houston
Thunder deals All-Star point guard for Paul, draft picks in ’24, ’26
LAS VEGAS — Unable to match the amount of draft picks offered up by the Houston Rockets, and seemingly unwilling to part with prospects, the Miami Heat ultimately wound up outflanked in trade negotiations for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook.
So instead of landing in what was speculated as a preferred destination, Westbrook landed back in championship contention, with the deal closed Thursday night.
According multiple media reports, the Thunder will receive point guard Chris Paul from the Rockets as well as Houston firstround picks in 2024 and ‘26, each protected for the first four selections. In addition, the Thunder receive the right to swap firstround picks with the Rockets in 2021 and ‘25.
The Heat lacked such draft capital, currently unable to trade first-round picks due to previous deals. The Thunder, in fact, already own the Heat’s 2021 unprotected first-round pick, as well as the Heat’s lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick, with both of those selections forwarded from the Los Angeles Clippers in last week’s acquisition of Thunder forward Paul George.
The Heat had investigated a trade for Westbrook, who, like recent Heat sign-andtrade acquisition Jimmy Butler, had expressed interest in playing in South Florida.
But the Heat also have been protective of their young assets, including signing firstround pick Tyler Herro on Wednesday, which left him ineligible to be traded for at least 30 days. The Heat also had been banking on the development of center Bam Adebayo and forward Justise Winslow.
The Heat were limited in their flexibility to take on additional salary from the Thunder, forced to operate under a hard cap for 2019-20, after acquiring Butler via that signand-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The initial belief with a Westbrook trade was that the Thunder would be seeking longterm, salary-cap relief, which seemingly had the expiring contracts of the Heat’s Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard in play. Instead, the Thunder opted for the package of draft picks from the Rockets, at the cost of talking on the remaining three years of Paul’s contract, one fewer season than Westbrook has on his deal, at equivalent salaries.
Leonard, who is not eligible to be dealt as part of a package until Sept. 7, privately had expressed concern about being re-routed. He initially was listed as claiming No. 0 with the Heat, but that decision was held off, with Westbrook also wearing No. 0.
Paul still could be flipped, allowed to immediately be rerouted, provided he is not packaged with another player. If Paul is aggregated in a follow-up trade, he then cannot be dealt by the Thunder for two months, which still would leave plenty of time before the October start of the regular season.
The trade reunited Westbrook with James Harden in Houston.
The two were teammates with the Thunder when Oklahoma City lost to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals.
So instead of Westbrook potentially changing the dynamic of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Western Conference continues to be an example of concentrated power: Harden and Westbrook with the Rockets, Kawhi Leonard and George with the Clippers, James and Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers.
For the Heat, it means, at least for the moment, moving forward with a roster of Adebayo, Leonard, Kelly Olynyk, James Johnson and second-round pick KZ Okpala in the power rotation, with Dragic, Butler, Winslow, Herro, Dion Waiters, Derrick Jones Jr. and possibly Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson on the wing.
Among concerns with a potential Westbrook-Butler Heat pairing not only was the long-term salary-cap implications, with Westbrook due $170 million over the next four seasons, but also the lack of floor spacing with a Butler-Westbrook pairing as neither has thrived with his 3-point shooting.
The lack of a move for Westbrook also allows for the Heat to continue to explore the possibilities of Winslow as a primary ballhandler.