Russell Westbrook Unlikely to Be Traded Before NBA Season Begins

It appears Russell Westbrook will not be traded by the Houston Rockets before the NBA season starts.

NBA training camp is set to begin next week, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week that he would anticipate Westbrook still being with the Rockets at that time. Woj says Westbrook remaining with Houston through the start of the season is “probably a more likely scenario” than him being dealt in the next month.

Westbrook and James Harden reportedly both want out of Houston. Both players are under contract for two more seasons with options for a third, so they don’t have a ton of leverage.  Houston already seems willing to find a way to smooth things over with Harden, but no word about if they feel the same way about Westbrook.

Even if the Rockets really want to shop Westbrook, they aren’t in any rush to do so. In the meantime, expect both Harden and Westbrook to be in the Rockets backcourt as the new NBA season begins on December 22nd.