Before Kevin Durant chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors, the conventional wisdom was that his likeliest move would be to re-up in Oklahoma City for one more season before making a long-term decision. Or are Thunder fans’ worst nightmares about to come true? Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman heard something similar from a source.
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Even though the Boston Celtics is reported to have an upper hand in Westbrook’s trade, there is still no update on the possible list of players that might be exchanged from the team.
“It’s not altogether clear right now”, Beck said.
Even with a guarantee, do you think the Lakers should pull the trigger on a trade Russell Westbrook trade before this season starts? But that said, let’s just say that there’s a very strong suspicion, a strong belief, among rival GMs that Russell Westbrook is not intending on staying – that he would leave next summer when he hits free agency. He swapped Serge Ibaka for a large package last month, too. They could still have Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford who they just signed, they could hold on to Jae Crowder presumably, and add Westbrook to that. The buzz made pretty good sense, since Durant’s departure downgrades the Thunder from title contender to presumed mid-tier playoff team. Sure, they get more space to sign other players.
Roberson started most games for the Thunder past year but was constantly benched for Dion Waiters as Waiters was a better scorer. There is speculation the Thunder will trade him so they can get something out of him before he bolts in free agency. You also wonder if Westbrook, who is from Southern California and attended UCLA, would favor a return home.
Now the chaos is over and Westbrook is the lone star on his team for the first time in this career.
The other teams reportedly interested in Russell Westbrook are the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and the Houston Rockets. He can give the Thunder a long-term commitment, or he can give a commitment to another team and Oklahoma City could work out a more fair deal. At least through a trade, they’ll be able to choose which player, or players, they will get in the exchange.
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However, if for some reason they’re swayed to believe that a trade would get Westbrook to remain with his new team, then they could start talking about a deal. That way the Thunder will have more than enough cap space to bring back their trio of restricted free agents: Adams, Oladipo and Andre Roberson.
