Who would’ve thunk it?
Impending 2017 free agent Russell Westbrook will not hit the open market. Unlike Kevin Durant, he’s committing to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sources: Russell Westbrook is flying to Oklahoma City on Thursday morning, planning to sign a three-year, $85M-plus contract renegotiation.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2016
Westbrook will be flanked by newly acquired shooting guard Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Enes Kanter and Stephen Adams. There’s also a strong chance Westbrook could be the NBA’s MVP in 2017, now that he won’t be sharing shots with Durant.
It’s worth mentioning, Andre Iguodala said in a recent interview he thought Oklahoma City had the better team in the Western Conference Finals. Maybe the Thunder won’t be the No. 8 seed this year. Maybe this team is pretty dang solid. Losing Durant and Serge Ibaka does not seem to jive with that statement, though.
As a caveat to this news, ESPN’s Zach Lowe pointed out should things go terribly wrong for the Thunder to start the season, an extension with Westbrook would make it much easier to trade him — meaning teams wouldn’t be scared to lose him in free agency.
Signing this deal right now really takes some courage on Westbrook’s part. Despite a solid nucleus and a smart coach in Billy Donovan, nobody knows how good the Thunder will be. But also locking in with the Thunder puts a definitive end to what would’ve been an unbearable season-long distraction in Oklahoma City.
