In late December, we wrote about the potential rationale for the Rockets to consider yet another trade involving highly priced guards John Wall and Russell Westbrook. Wall has not played for Houston in the 2021-22 season due to the team’s emphasis on developing younger players.
The two former All-Stars were first traded for one another in December 2020, with the Rockets landing a protected future first-round draft pick from Washington along with Wall. The high salaries of both players — at an average of more than $45 million per season through 2022-23 — made it to where a trade for the other was far more plausible than a deal elsewhere, considering the difficulties that most teams would face in finding enough disposable salary to make the math work.
