After a single season in Houston, Russell Westbrook has reportedly requested a trade from the Rockets. Westbrook and James Harden may be good friends, but according to The Athletic, Westbrook was frustrated at the lack of accountability Harden was held to.

On the daily Locked On Rockets Podcast, host Jackson Gatlin laments the turmoil the Rockets are going through but, found there is one bright spot in Westbrook's trade request; they can try to trade him now without upsetting James Harden.

Jackson Gatlin: I think the really interesting thing when it comes to this dynamic between Harden and Russ… is the fact that Harden did play a huge part in getting Russ here. Harden's relationship with Chris Paul fell apart at the end of last NBA season or the prior NBA season after not being able to get over the hump with Chris Paul in two years of being his teammate. Then Russ becomes available after Paul George forces his way out of Oklahoma City… So Harden says, ‘hey, that's Russ. That's my guy. That's my boy, I want to play with him. Go get him.'

Then we see just how rocky that pairing worked and now again, this is an exciting opportunity for Harden and the Houston Rockets. The fit was never really worked. There was there were times when it kind of worked, but overall I think this is a burden is lifted off the Rockets shoulders because myself and many others shared the sentiment that there was no way that the Rockets could feasibly trade Russell Westbrook without pissing off James Harden. Now it seems that Russ wants out because he wants to return to this preconceived role that he had when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, being the primary ball-handler. I don't think he's capable of being the best player on a team because he doesn't pair well with other top players, he can't not have the ball in his hands.