Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook Trade Haunts Rockets
The Houston Rockets' rebuilding phase is long behind them, and the topic rarely comes up now. They still possess valuable draft picks, largely due to the 2021 trade involving James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. This deal yielded the Phoenix Suns’ first-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
However, the Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder unless it falls within the top four picks, which would indicate a very poor season for Houston. This obligation relates back to the 2019 trade that sent Chris Paul to the Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook, along with first-round picks in 2024 and 2026 and pick swaps in 2021 and 2025.
Houston only benefited from Westbrook for one season, while Paul’s Thunder finished with the same 44-28 record. Both teams met in the playoffs that year, engaging in a grueling seven-game series.
"In July 2019, the Rockets were clinging to fading hopes of making a championship run with James Harden and tried this deal out of desperation. It effectively flatlined those dreams for good and shifted everything for the franchise. Westbrook was always a strange choice to slot alongside Harden."
Bleacher Report identified this trade as one that continues to haunt the Rockets in 2025, marking a pivotal moment that reshaped the franchise’s direction.
Summary
The 2019 Chris Paul-Russell Westbrook trade remains a defining and troubling moment for the Rockets, affecting their draft future and overall franchise trajectory through 2025.