James Harden’s most recent post-game presser came by way of a crushing game 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors in this year’s Western Conference semifinal, and the perennial all-star guard descended some ambiguous quotes to journalists in his exit speech.

“I know exactly what we need to do. We’ll figure it out this summer.”

On July 11, 2019, The Houston Rockets figured it out, and all they had to do was exile their 9-time all-star point guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder to get a familiar face. That is, to James Harden, at least.

Regardless of whatever media-fabricated fallacy written about Chris Paul and James Harden’s failing relationship, speculation was put to rest at around 8 p.m. when 11-year Thunder veteran Russell Westbrook was traded from the very franchise that heralded him to the Houston Rockets, ultimately reuniting him with his former Thunder cohort in Harden. Paul, on the other hand, was promptly discarded to the Thunder as a result of the trade.

Call it creating cap space by shedding a massive 3 year, $159 million contract for an aging-yet-productive 34-year-old, or call it a means of accentuating the dismay Harden had for the 9-time all-star by Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey committing to Harden long-term as the franchise cornerpiece, and finally separating the two that showed their “differences of opinion” throughout the season.

The Rockets, on Thursday evening, moved on from what felt like a period of hope for the Rockets and their pursuit of beating rival Golden State with a star-studded backcourt and look to a new duo of two former league MVPs to run Mike D’Antoni’s drive-kick favorable and pick and roll-heavy motion offense.

The Miami Heat had also been in contention for Westbrook’s services, but both the Heat and Thunder could not reach an agreement in the recent days due to Miami’s reluctance to include their younger players in a trade package. The Thunder wanted to do right by Westbrook and accepted his preferred destination of Houston after a tumultuous offseason that involved the trading of all-star and MVP runner up Paul George to the Clippers.

Westbrook stood around, time after time, trade after trade, and stayed loyal to the Thunder. The time has finally come for Westbrook to look for a new location to contend for a title right away. And the 30-year-old guard does not have any longer to stick around for another rebuild.

Westbrook, widely dubbed as the king of triple-doubles, will more than likely replace Paul as the primary ball-handler in the system, potentially relegating Harden back to his natural shooting guard spot. We have yet to see if the old OKC chemistry will still be there and if the two can coexist on the floor at the same time. What is known, however, is that myriad of toxicity that hung over the Rockets heads all year like a dark cloud will finally pass, now that Paul is out of the picture.

Oklahoma City did not walk away from this trade with just Chris Paul along, as there is still a bevy of first-round picks for 2020 and beyond at Thunder GM Sam Presti’s disposal, all of which materialized themselves throughout this free agency period.

Thunder current first round picks:

– 2020 (OKC)
– 2020 (DEN)

– 2021 (OKC)
– 2021 (Heat)

– 2022 (OKC 1-14)
– 2022 (LAC)

– 2023 (OKC / can swap with LAC)
– 2023 (MIA, lotto protected)

– 2024 (OKC)
– 2024 (LAC)

– 2025 (OKC / can swap with LAC)

– 2026 (OKC)
– 2026 (LAC)

Wow.

— Ross (@LegionHoopsRoss) July 8, 2019

As the Brodie takes his talents to Houston to pair up with his good friend in Harden, add this to the list of blockbuster deals in what has felt like the most shocking offseasons in NBA history. For once, it feels as if the league is without a domineering big three of sorts for the first time in quite a while.

The 2019-2020 season is gearing up to be one of the most parity-filled, exciting and unpredictable years in recent memory and with Westbrook heading down the border to H-Town, that parity could either increase, making the West that much more difficult to win, or decrease, if Harden and Westbrook’s styles of play are not dynamic enough to make each other better.