Only a few minutes into his introductory news conference, Russell Westbrook said something Friday that would've caused a collective spit take around the NBA just a few weeks ago."I only care about one team," Westbrook said, "and that's the Houston Rockets."
在周五的新闻发布会开场的几分钟后，拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克说了一些话，这些话可以让NBA在几周内引起轩然大波。“我只关心一支球队，”威斯布鲁克说，“那就是休斯顿火箭队。”
After spending his first 11 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook officially embarked on a new chapter Friday. It was a somewhat surreal image, Westbrook dressed in Rockets colors with general manager Daryl Morey sitting to his right."To get something great, you've got to give up something great," Morey said.
在俄克拉荷马城雷霆效力了11个赛季之后，威斯布鲁克在周五正式开始了新的篇章。这是一个有点超现实的画面，威斯布鲁克穿上了火箭队服，总经理莫雷坐在他右边。莫雷说：“为了得到一些伟大的东西，你必须放弃一些伟大的东西。”
"We've been friends for many, many years," Westbrook said of Harden. "Since I was 10, actually. So we've played with each other in Oklahoma City, and to be able to win something, you've got to be willing to sacrifice some parts of your game, and we both understand that.
“我们已经是很多年的朋友了，”威斯布鲁克提起哈登时这样说。“实际上从我10岁起。我们在俄克拉荷马城成为队友，为了能够赢得比赛，你必须愿意牺牲你在比赛中的某些部分，我们都明白这一点。
Westbrook and Harden played together for three seasons in Oklahoma City, culminating in 2012. Harden, who won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award that season, was traded to the Rockets before the beginning of the 2012-13 campaign. Westbrook was already an All-Star at the time, but both players established themselves as franchise players, winning MVPs and making NBA history along the way.
威斯布鲁克和哈登在俄克拉荷马城一起打了三个赛季，直到2012年结束。哈登在那个赛季获得了NBA年度最佳第六人奖，在2012-13赛季开始前，他被交易到了火箭队。那时威斯布鲁克已经是全明星级别的球员了，与此同时，他们都成为了球队数一数二的球员，赢得了MVP，并创造了NBA历史。

Westbrook had been seen as a likely lifer in OKC,especially after pledging his loyalty following the 2016 departure of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors. Westbrook signed an extension that summer to provide stability to the franchise, and then he re-signed a new five-year supermax extension the next summer, planting his flag seemingly for the long term.
威斯布鲁克曾被认为是雷霆的终身球员，尤其是在杜兰特于2016年离开球队加入金州勇士队后，他承诺了自己的忠诚。在那个夏天，威斯布鲁克与球队续约，以保证球队的稳定，接着他在第二年夏天重新签署了一个新的长达五年的超级大合同，似乎是表明他要长久留队。
But with circumstances changing, Westbrook and the Thunder were both ready to move on."It's tough," Westbrook said. "It's something that will stay with me the rest of my life. Because I basically grew up there, in Oklahoma City. Eighteen years old in Oklahoma City and the people, the organization, never done me wrong. They always stood up for me and my family — always had my back — and I'm very, very grateful and I don't take that for granted.
但是随着环境的变化，威斯布鲁克和雷霆都准备好向前迈进了。“这是艰难的，”威斯布鲁克说。“它将是陪伴我余生的一件事情。因为我基本上在那里长大，在俄克拉荷马城。十八岁的时候我来到俄克拉何马城，这个组织，从来没有亏待过我。他们总是支持我和我的家庭—并且一直支持着我。我非常感激，我并没有把这当做是理所当然的。
"We both understand that we have one common goal and that's to win a championship. We understand what we have to do. I'm not worried about it, and I know James isn't worried about it. I can play off the ball; I don't have to touch the ball to impact the game. That's the best way for me to come in and impact this team. I can do other things on the floor to make sure we have a better chance to win."