Just when you thought it was one of the slowest sports nights of the year, the NBA had other plans.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade superstar point guard Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for veteran guard Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, and pick swaps in 2021 and 2025, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
This means Westbrook, in a stunning turn of events, will be reunited with former Thunder teammate James Harden in Houston.
The move comes on the heels of the Thunder trading Paul George to the Clippers. Oklahoma City acquired guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, forward Danilo Gallinari, first-round draft picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026, and two first-round picks via Miami (2021 and 2023) in that deal.
From a Celtics perspective, they can thank their lucky stars they're in the East (and that 1-16 playoff seeding is still a pipe dream). The West is an absolute war zone and teams in the East can only hope all these stars duos beat each other into oblivion before the Finals. Westbrook staying out west instead of going to Miami is a win, too, for East squads like Boston.
Boston Celtics
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