While we know Russell Westbrook was more than open to a potential trade this offseason, the timing of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s deal created a unique situation. Westbrook was hosting a comedy show in Tulsa, Oklahoma with comedian Demetrius Deason when the news broke of his trade to the Houston Rockets.
Fortunately, it appears there was nothing but love for Westbrook from the crowd. Beyond that, the star guard was all smiles and even broke out a little dance after the news, as Heavy.com’s Brandon Robinson revealed.
Rockets’ Russell Westbrook dancing after trade – t.co/5hNAlqY6s2
My story via @HeavySan on the Oklahoma City Thunder icon and the trade that sent him to Houston with former teammate, James Harden.
Robinson also posted the video of Westbrook taking a moment to show some love to Oklahoma City and thanking the crowd for coming out. As you can see, Brodie was greeted with plenty of appreciation, and it’s likely that many Thunder fans feel the same respect for the guard.
Russell Westbrook taliked to the crowd and thanked Oklahoma.
Westbrook has spent his entire career with the Thunder and has gone from an extremely talented young player with upside to one of the NBA’s best point guards. The 30-year-old guard will head into year No. 12 of his NBA career in 2019-20, and will do so while playing alongside former Thunder teammate James Harden.
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Russell Westbrook Shows Love to Thunder Fans
After the comedy show on Thursday night, Westbrook made the rounds with fans in attendance and smiled for photos while appearing to chat with a number of people. Robinson caught a few of the moments on camera, which shows a bit of the love and respect Westbrook has for the fanbase that’s supported him throughout his career.
Russell Westbrook showing everybody in Oklahoma love. After his Why Not show.
During his tenure with the Thunder, Westbrook has been named an NBA All-Star eight times, landed on an All-NBA team eight times, led the league in scoring in 2015 and 2017 and won the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Over the span of 821 career games in Oklahoma City, he averaged 23.0 points, 8.4 assists and 7.0 rebounds.
In each of the previous three seasons, Westbrook has averaged a triple-double, with his biggest stat line coming in 2016-17, as he posted marks of 21.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
Russell Westbrook Trade to Rockets: Terms & Details
Westbrook had been linked to a number of teams prior to the trade, and it specifically looked like he may land with the Miami Heat. But the Rockets emerged to get a deal done, and it was one which featured the Thunder adding to the plethora of first-round draft picks they’ve acquired this offseason via trade.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Rockets sent Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City in exchange for Westbrook.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, pick swaps in 2021 and 2025, league sources tell ESPN.
Following the deal which reunites Westbrook and Harden while creating one of the NBA’s best backcourts, the topic of Chris Paul’s future remains a talking point. It appears the Thunder are attempting to swing a trade to move Paul once again, and the Heat have been listed as a top landing spot.
A deal sending Paul to Miami could happen soon, as Wojnarowski stated on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ Friday (via pickuphoop on Twitter) that OKC is trying to get a deal done “as soon as they can.”
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Russell Westbrook Dances on Stage Shortly After Rockets Trade [WATCH]