Westbrook’s new deal comes one month to the day since Durant announced he would leave Oklahoma City for the Golden State Warriors.
Advertisement
The relationship between the two all-stars has been distant since Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, spurning the Thunder at the last minute.
Westbrook renegotiated his contract with the Thunder earlier this week signing a new three-year deal worth over $85 million. Kevin Durant always wanted to win a title at any cost whereas Russell Westbrook always wanted to be the guy.
That meant the Oklahoma city Thunder had to remove it’s qualifying offer to restricted free agent Dion Waiters to free up the salary cap to keep Westbrook.
Now that Westbrook has a new deal signed, OKC will be scouting the market for other top superstars to join Westbrook.
Only one of those seasons is guaranteed, though. The team still good enough to compete for a playoff spot. The source added that Oklahoma City is not giving Westbrook a hard deadline by which he must agree to the extension. There were rumors that the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks were in trade talks with the Thunder but they wanted to make sure that Westbrook had an extension before they give up real assets. Westbrook’s next steps are expected to be revealed before the 2016-2017 National Basketball Association season begins on October 25.
Advertisement
The proposed deal would include a player option on the third year, which would clear the way for Westbrook to return to free agency in 2018. Just a few years ago the Heat built their first big 3 with LeBron, Wade and Bosh, this time around it could be led by Russell Westbrook. Westbrook averaged 23.5 points, 10.4 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game past year for the Thunder. To make it a powerful team and to get Westbrook, the Cavaliers have to be willing to trade Irving, who drilled the winning three-pointer in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
