NBA Rumors: Here’s Why Rockets’ Culture ‘Appalled’ Russell Westbrook

It’s safe to assume a sense of relief overcame Russell Westbrook when he was shipped out of Houston.

The Rockets traded Westbrook to the Washington Wizards earlier this month, not long after reports surfaced indicating the star guard was looking to be moved. Westbrook’s short-time running mate, James Harden, currently remains in Houston despite his reported trade wishes.

Harden might have factored into Westbrook’s overall displeasure with how things are run with the Rockets. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Westbrook was taken aback by the franchise’s culture, which seemingly revolves around the 2018 MVP.

“Houston’s casual culture appalled Westbrook,” MacMahon wrote. “In Oklahoma City, despite the fact that he enjoyed the same sort of superstar privileges as Harden has had in Houston, the Thunder operated with the discipline of a military unit under Westbrook’s watch. The Rockets were a stark contrast, especially last season under D’Antoni, who was never known as a disciplinarian and who was a lame duck in the last year of his contract after extension negotiations infamously fizzled twice over the summer.

“Westbrook didn’t tolerate tardiness. With the Rockets, scheduled departure times were treated as mere suggestions by Harden and others.”

To put the situation in blunt terms, a Rockets staffer describes Harden and Co. to MacMahon as “an organized AAU team.”

Westbrook probably had a better chance of winning with the Rockets in the upcoming season than he now does with the Wizards. But if MacMahon’s report is accurate, the nine-time All-Star likely is perfectly content with playing in the nation’s capital.