With recent news broken about the Paul-Westbrook trade, many will speculate how a Harden and Westbrook pairing will work out. The Rockets will now have two very ball-dominant players in James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
There’s only one ball to share, so who takes a backseat in all of this? The answer is simple. The same way Chris Paul took a backseat to Harden, Westbrook will also have to take a backseat in a Rockets uniform.
Westbrook showed interest in playing with James after the Paul Geroge trade, so why would it be difficult to have a harmonious pairing of the two former MVP’s?
The answer may be simple, but the situation is different from that of Chris Paul’s. Paul, when joining the Rockets, had been past his prime and on the decline. Westbrook, on the other hand, is coming off his third straight year averaging a triple-double.
It won’t be easy for Westbrook to defer to Harden next season, but he’s showed it’s possible after playing two full seasons with Paul George. Paul George had an MVP-caliber season playing with Westbrook, averaging 28 points and grabbing 8.2 rebounds per game.
Daryl Morey told ESPN.com late Thursday that he called Harden when a deal was close to being done. Harden made it clear how he felt about bringing Westbrook to Houston:
“I know how to play with Russ and he knows how to play with me.”
Morey’s philosophy of stringing together the most talent and trying to make it all work will certainly be tested in the 2019-20 NBA season. Only time will tell how the duo of Harden and Westbrook plays out in Houston.
It’s way too early to say how Morey’s plan will go, but be prepared to see a lot of this next season in Houston :
