Section 215
Fansided

76ers catch break by avoiding Russell Westbrook joining Eastern Conference

By Dan Parzych

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - APRIL 19: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts after a made basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of game three of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Chesapeake Energy Arena on April 19, 2019 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - APRIL 19: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts after a made basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of game three of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Chesapeake Energy Arena on April 19, 2019 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers should be thrilled over the news that Russell Westbrook will remain in the Western Conference following a trade to the Houston Rockets.

Even though the Philadelphia 76ers knew early on they were out of the running of a potential Russell Westbrook trade, the team was still interested to see if the star guard would end up in the Eastern Conference.

After the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to pull the trigger last week by agreeing to send Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade, it seemed like only a matter of time before the team decided to pull off another deal involving Westbrook.

By trading George, it became pretty clear that Oklahoma City was more so focusing on rebuilding instead of being a serious contender in the Western Conference, or the trade with Los Angeles never would have taken place to begin with.

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On Thursday night, basketball fans discovered that Westbrook would be reuniting with his former teammate in James Harden after the Thunder agreed to send their former star guard to the Houston Rockets.

From a competitive standpoint, Westbrook joining the Rockets doesn’t impact the Sixers as much since the only chance they would meet in the playoffs would be if both teams happened to reach the NBA Finals next season.

Thanks to Westbrook heading to Houston, Philadelphia no longer has to worry about Westbrook joining a team in the Eastern Conference, such as the Miami Heat.

Leading up to the announcement of the trade to the Rockets, there was some speculation over the possibility of the Thunder sending Westbrook to the Heat to team up with a veteran the Sixers are quite familiar with in Jimmy Butler.

While Miami wasn’t considered as big of a threat in the East following the Butler trade, the addition of Westbrook would have made thing a lot more difficult for Philadelphia.

Now that Westbrook is staying in the Western Conference, the Sixers can still hang on to the honor of arguably being the team to beat in the East for now, although that’s always easier said than done.

Just because Philadelphia appears to have the best starting five in the East at the moment doesn’t necessarily mean their success is guaranteed, but at least this news with Westbrook sort of helps their chances in a way.