After the announcement, Westbrook briefly addressed a crowd of about 1,500 people in front of Chesapeake Energy Arena before entering the lobby, where highlights of his eight-year career with the Thunder were played on a large screen.
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Should NBA fans be happy that Westbrook is back in Oklahoma City? “It’s easy for someone else to tell me what I should do”, Durant said. “You guys have basically raised me”.
“With Kevin going, it opened up a few things for me in different ways”, Westbrook said. Definitely wanted to have the opportunity to be loyal to you guys.
Will the OKC Thunder eventually still trade Russell Westbrook sometime next season?
FILE – In this November 13, 2015, file photo, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook celebrates following a dunk during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, in Oklahoma City. The fellow All-Star signed a free agent deal with the Warriors last month. With numbers of speculations swirling around since Durant departed, one of those would be that Westbrook will also jump of the boat. Westbrook and the Thunder answered most of those rumors Thursday. Westbrook’s salary will go from $17.8 million next season to the maximum of $26.5 million. “That’s all I’m anxious about, to find ways to come in and figure out ways to make the team become a great organization”.
As for Oklahoma City, the move doubles the amount of time they have to build around Russ, from one season to at least two.
There will be no Russell Westbrook sweepstakes in the summer of 2017.
Now that Westbrook’s extension with Oklahoma City is official, Durant, naturally, was asked what he thinks about that surprising development.
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“But nothing after. Just a text message from him, that’s about it”, Westbrook said at a press conference announcing the three-year extension he agreed to this week. Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has been also linked to the Celtics for quite some time now, but it seems any deal is unlikely at this point, with Griffin also primed to explore free agency next summer.
