"Sh*t ain't rumors": John Wall was stunned to learn about Houston trade from Russell Westbrook himself

John Wall's stint with the Washington Wizards ended in 2020 when he was traded for Russell Westbrook, who was with the Houston Rockets at the time. Wall recently revealed that the nine-time All-Star reached out to him before the trade, which took him by surprise.

In his prime, Wall was one of the NBA's top point guards which is why seeing his decline in production was hard to watch. The five-time All-Star said recently in the podcast "Run Your Race" that Westbrook informed him about the trade rumors.

"Russ called me out of nowhere, DMs me out of nowhere," Wall said. "Like, I know Russ being Russ, cool, saying whatever to each other, but a lot of people, you just don't have their number. Like, I got respect for you, but I just don't have that relationship.

"He DMed me, like, 'What's your number?' I'm like, 'F**k, you mean, what's my number?' He texted me, 'D.C. trying to get me, but they say you don't want to leave.'

"I'm like, 'F**k, no, n***a, this has been here for 10 years, this my franchise.' ... I ain't believing it. So, I ask my agent. Then, I started hearing about it. But s**t be rumors. Certain sh*t ain't rumors when you're hearing it from the main source."

The trade went through, ending Wall's time as a Wizard. For the 2016-17 MVP, he helped the team make the postseason for the first time since the 2017-18 season but fell short and was eliminated in five games.

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Westbrook didn't last more than a season with Washington as he was traded in the offseason to the LA Lakers. Wall, on the other hand, played only 40 games for the Rockets and missed the entire 2021-22 season with them.

You might also be interested in reading this: NBA Rumors: John Wall is gaining interest from teams in Australia

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What were the details of John Wall and Russell Westbrook's trade?

Many thought that John Wall would play his entire career with the Wizards. However, he was traded for another All-Star guard who helped the team reach the playoffs.

Sources confirmed in December 2020 that Wall was traded to the Rockets in exchange for Westbrook. The deal included a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick to Houston.

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Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke down the details of the lottery pick.

"The 2023 first-round pick is lottery protected for the Wizards," Wojnarowski wrote. "If it doesn't convey in that year, it has a succession of protections that include picks Nos. 1-12 in 2024, picks 1-10 in 2025 and picks 1-8 in 2026. ... If it hasn't conveyed as a first-round pick to Houston by 2026, it becomes a second-round pick in each of 2026 and 2027."

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