Houston Rockets Receive: G Russell Westbrook, G Talen Horton-Tucker, LAL 2027 1st Round Pick (Top-10 Protected)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G John Wall, G Eric Gordon
There are few player’s contracts that can line up with that of Russell Westbrook’s in a trade and John Wall’s contract is one of them.
Set to make $47.3 million next season, the Lakers could swap Russell Westbrook for John Wall with virtually no penalty at-hand, but the Rockets have already made their intentions clear on this trade.
Houston wants some sort of value from the Lakers for taking on Westbrook’s contract, which is why Los Angeles would have to send a first-round pick at the very least.
In this trade, they would not only send a future first-round pick to Houston, but they would be trading Talen Horton-Tucker to Houston as well for veteran wing Eric Gordon.
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Now in his 14th NBA season, Eric Gordon has been having a terrific season with the Houston Rockets and has shot 41.1% from three-point range on the year, the highest mark of his career since he shot 44.8% from deep during the 2014-15 season in New Orleans.
The Rockets have utilized Eric Gordon in their rotations this season and they have really liked the veteran leadership he brings to this young, rebuilding team, which is why they were not willing to trade him just for the sake of trading him at the deadline this season.
In order for the Rockets to trade John Wall and Eric Gordon, they would need to be receiving fair value in return. Russell Westbrook would be a buyout candidate for Houston, but Horton-Tucker and a first-round pick could be good enough for them to make this deal.
As for Los Angeles, John Wall is an unselfish point guard that just wants another chance to play in this league. Getting a fresh start with the Lakers could be great for him and unlike Russell Westbrook, John Wall does not always need to have the ball in his hands every possession to be efficient.
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Eric Gordon could be the key, experienced shooter they are missing on the perimeter this season and getting out of Talen Horton-Tucker’s contract could be advantageous as well.
There are definitely aspects of this trade for the Lakers and Rockets to like, but at the end of the day, it is still hard to imagine that Russell Westbrook is tradeable at this point.
