One of the biggest trade prospects that has recently hit the rumor mill is a potential swap between Russell Westbrook and John Wall. Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard has spoken out about the rumored Wall-to-the-Houston Rockets deal, and the high-ranking executive had nothing but good things to say about Westbrook.
Sheppard acknowledged how Westbrook still remains to be one of the top players in the league, but also reiterated how much trust he has in Wall:
“Russell's a perennial All-Star and last year was a third-team All-NBA player,” Sheppard said, via Mike Deprisco of NBC Sports. “So I think over the years he's shown he's an elite player in the NBA. For me, we're trying to figure out ways to beat teams with guys like that, and I think we have that in Bradley and John. They've shown when they're healthy going at guys that they're a dynamic duo and one of the best backcourts in the NBA.”
Impressive response from Sheppard here. He praised the current Wizards backcourt partnership in Wall and Bradley Beal, while also talking up Westbrook, without blatantly denying a potential Wall-for-Westbrook trade. Clearly, this guy knows what he's doing.
Sheppard tried to further play down the rumor by expressing how these types of rumblings have become commonplace at this point:
“You mentioned Russell, there's several players out there this time of year that their names always pop up and I'm sure it bothers them,” he said. “But I'm sure they're used to it and life goes on.”
We have to take Sheppard's statement here with a grain of salt. After all, he did say previously that the Wizards intend to build around Beal moving forward, which somewhat places Wall on the outside looking in.
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