Russell Westbrook’s exit from Oklahoma City kept paying off years later. The Oklahoma City Thunder turned the final asset from that deal into Jared McCain, closing the loop on a trade that began after the 2019 season.
Chris Paul to a draft pick
The Thunder got Chris Paul and two first-round draft picks for Westbrook, then moved Paul after one season for another first-round pick. Paul’s stop in Oklahoma City was brief, but it still fed the next step in the chain and helped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander along the way.
That sequence is the point of the story. One trade became several transactions, and the final piece was the 22nd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The 22nd pick moved again
In 2026, the 76ers used that 22nd pick on Labaron Philon Jr. out of Alabama. Oklahoma City then dealt the same pick as part of the package for Jared McCain, which is how the last Westbrook asset ended up converted into another player.
The Thunder also traded Paul George and Westbrook in 2019 to enter a rebuild. Westbrook had spent his first 11 NBA seasons with the Thunder, won an MVP in Oklahoma City, helped them reach the NBA Finals in 2012 as the second-leading scorer, and reached the playoffs nine times before the roster was broken up.
Houston’s short return
The other side of that 2019 move did not last long. The Rockets took on Westbrook, but the partnership with James Harden lasted only one playoff series before Houston started its own rebuild a year later.
Sam Presti’s front office turned one departure into a multi-year asset chain, and the last link ended with McCain. What the Thunder originally received beyond Paul and the two first-round picks is not laid out in full here, but the final result is plain: the Westbrook deal still produced value in 2026.
