The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a blockbuster trade that will send Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets, where he'll be reunited with James Harden, league sources told ESPN.
The Rockets will send guard Chris Paul, two protected first-round picks (2024 and 2026, both protected Nos. 1-4) and two pick swaps (2021 and 2025) to the Thunder, league sources told ESPN.
The Rockets are reuniting two former MVP guards who started their careers together with the Thunder. This was a deal Harden and Westbrook were each enthusiastic about, league sources said.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti worked with Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, to help honor the star guard's hopes of playing with the Rockets, league sources said. The Thunder also discussed a possible deal with the Miami Heat, sources said.
Presti already is working with Paul's agents at CAA Sports -- Leon Rose and Steven Heumann -- to redirect the nine-time All-Star to a new team, league sources tell ESPN. The Heat are prominent in the conversations, but there are other possibilities also being explored, sources said. Presti and Rose worked together last year on a similar situation with Carmelo Anthony.
In making the trade, the Rockets believe that the age difference between Paul (34) and Westbrook (30) gives them a better chance to extend the championship window of Harden, who will turn 30 next month.
