Who Won the Wizards-Rockets Trade: John Wall For Russell Westbrook?

The Washington Wizards and the Houston Rockets recently flipped two of the worst contracts in the league for one another, as Russell Westbrook heads to Washington, while John Wall heads over to Houston. Who won this trade, and who will it help the most in the short and long term?

• Washington Wizards NBA Championship Odds: (+10,000)
• Washington Wizards Eastern Conference Odds: (+5000)
• Washington Wizards Southeast Division Odds: (+750)
• Houston Rockets NBA Championship Odds: (+5000)
• Houston Rockets Western Conference Odds: (+2500)
• Houston Rockets Southwest Division Odds: (+325)

These odds are courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook (visit our BetOnline review).

Who Won The Trade?

The winner of this trade will be determined by several factors and it remains to be seen on several of those. It might take a year or two to truly determine a winner and/or loser, but we can examine some of the immediate results.

For Houston, a team who is probably on the slow but steady trail towards rebuilding, trading Westbrook was another stop along the way. After firing their coach, GM, and trading Robert Covington before the NBA draft, the Rockets have been clearly signaling they want to rebuild. Trading Westbrook was just another step in that mission. We’ll see if someone pays them enough for Harden in the future as well.

For the Wizards, Wall has been a staple in the District for a while, but while he remains a fan favorite, the veteran point guard hasn’t played in almost two full years and it remains to be seen what he could do for a Wizards franchise that has been a second-round out, or a lottery team for Wall’s entire tenure.

The Rockets were able to snag a first-round pick in the deal considering the risk they are taking on with Wall’s health, but the pick is pretty heavily protected, as it should be. The 2023 pick is lottery protected and if it doesn’t convey in 2023, it’s 1-12, 1-10, and 1-8 protected for the next three years. If it hasn’t conveyed as a first-round pick by 2026, it becomes two consecutive second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

That’s not much return for the Rockets, but it does help their rebuilding if the Wizards end up being good with Westbrook over the next few years. Houston is now owed a total of three protected first-round picks over the next two years, so we’ll see if any of them convey any time soon.

However, the Wizards have seemingly won this trade in the short term because Westbrook is still a higher-caliber player, while Wall may be beginning the end of his career in Houston. If Wall can’t stay healthy, or isn’t the same player from before his injuries, that could spell bad news for Houston and great return of value for the Wizards.

Westbrook has already been reportedly upping the intensity in the Wizards’ scrimmages and with a young team and a very good star shooter in Bradley Beal, the Wizards seem like they have playoff aspirations after missing them for the last two seasons.

The winner and loser of this trade may be unknown for a while, but in the short term, the Wizards have better playoff odds with Westbrook as they did with Wall, so at least for now, the winner is the Wizards. NBA odds could change obviously, but for right now the scales are tipped to their favor.

How Will These Point Guards Help Their New Teams?

For the Rockets, Wall is going to be able to help in a number of ways. First, he isn’t Westbrook, and probably will defer to James Harden with very little, if any pushback. We saw Westbrook and Harden butting heads at times this past season or two and it was pretty evident the pairing wasn’t working that well.

Wall on the other hand is just as good of a distributor as Westbrook, and while their three-point shots are both a work in progress, Wall’s efficiency might improve a lot playing next to Harden as opposed to Beal where he’ll be asked to do less on offense. Westbrook on the other hand might see his efficiency drop playing in Washington, who will play even faster than Houston had been playing.

In the end, this is more of a lateral move for now, with both clubs hoping it pays off more towards their side over time. These two guards were both disgruntled in their former situations, and a change of scenery may end up working out to favor both of them, resulting in wins for both teams.

Only time will tell, but it appears to be good for both clubs. It will be better for one side if one guard stays healthy, while the other doesn’t, or if Washington can get back to the playoffs in 2020-21, while the Rockets head to the lottery. It truly has the ability to be good for both teams, bad for both teams, or a mixture of the two.

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