Russell Westbrook might be the most important person everyone has been looking at after Kevin Durant elected to join the Golden State Warriors. To this point, Westbrook has not said anything about the move by his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate but everyone is sure there is something brewing.
The former MVP has all but made it official, he will leave the Thunder and will join the Warriors, all that is needed is for him to sign the dotted line. With Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka both gone in a matter of one week, the eyes now turn to Westbrook to lead this team.
In order to properly lead this squad the Thunder are looking to keep the high-energy All-Star Guard. But if they don’t, he could be another casualty of a changing Thunder organization.
Following from Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
One option the team is considering is attempting to renegotiate and extend the contract of Westbrook before he can become a free agent after next season, sources told ESPN.
If Westbrook chooses not to extend his contract this summer, multiple league executives told ESPN they believe the Thunder will consider fielding trade offers for Westbrook.
In the wake of Durant’s departure, however, the Thunder were planning to take some time before making roster decisions.
David Aldridge of Turner Sports reports that there’s just about no chance Westbrook does an extension with the Thunder.
Told emphatically by league source there's no chance Russell Westbrook will do a renegotiation/extension of his contract (one yr remaining).
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 4, 2016
That does not mean there’s no chance W’Brook could re-sign in OKC in ‘17. It just makes no sense financially to do renegotiation/extension.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 4, 2016
Could Russell Westbrook realistically be dealt? No doubt about it. And there will be many teams who want to get the All-Star Game MVP on their roster. KD joining the Warriors means there will be nothing holding back the Thunder and general manager Sam Presti from doing what he can to get back to contender status. If that means trading Russell Westbrook in order to get assets and draft picks, so be it. We’ve seen him trade James Harden and Serge Ibaka and he got nothing back for losing Durant. If he can’t keep Russ, he might have to make this move as soon as possible.
