BREAKING: Russell Westbrook requests trade, James Harden “locked in” for season

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Rockets’ superstar duo is at a crossroads, with James Harden “locked in” for the season and Russell Westbrook wanting out of Houston.

Shams posted that tweet at 6:11 p.m. Houston time and we thought this was the end of the Rockets as we know it.

However, another Shams tweet lifted us once again by reporting that Harden is wanting out of Houston.

This certainly comes as a surprise considering many of us in Red Nation developed the understanding that Harden and Westbrook were BFF’s and that Harden pushed for Westbrook to come here.

After just one season, Westbrook wants out. It won’t be easy to get a trade for him and his value decreases immensely now with the announcement of his trade request.

Tomorrow, Westbrook turns 32 and still has a salary that pays him north of $130 million over the course of the next three seasons, though he can opt out after 2022-23.

It’s a shame that the Westbrook experiment appears to be over because, if Westbrook never plays for the Rockets again, the team would have sent two draft picks away and wasted another year of Harden’s prime.

The team also traded Clint Capela to the Hawks to ensure that the team could better fit Westbrook’s style of play. All of that appears to be for naught.

The Dream Shake will continue to update this story as it develops.