Exactly one month ago, Kevin Durant decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to team up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the Golden State Warriors. In doing so, it appeared that a franchise once destined to win titles was about to fall on hard times.
There was seemingly no way Russell Westbrook, Durant’s uber-competitive running mate, was going to stay in Oklahoma City. There was no way Westbrook would agree to sign up for a team with no chance to win a title now or in the near future, and his destiny would wind up being the same as former teammates James Harden and Serge Ibaka: dealt by General Manager Sam Presti for a haul of assets in an effort to jump-start the next era of Thunder basketball. Oklahoma City’s time as one of the league’s best and most entertaining teams was at an end.
Only that’s not what happened. Not at all.
Instead, Westbrook and the Thunder have all but agreed to a three-year, $85 million contract renegotiation and extension.
It is ironic that Westbrook’s agreement was only possible because of the same cap spike that allowed Durant to go to Golden State in the first place. But right now, that won’t matter to anyone in Oklahoma City. This is the rare transaction in sports between a player and team where there is no downside for anyone involved, and one that will have significant reverberations across the NBA not only this year, but for years to come.
How so?
Well, let’s start with Westbrook. In the short term, the fact he’s getting an extra $9 million this season makes signing an extension an easy win. The fact he’s realistically adding only one more year to his contract before entering free agency – the final year of the deal is a player option – to get that raise is also a benefit. That’s especially true when you consider the extra year will mean Westbrook will have 10 years of service, and thus be eligible for the largest available maximum contract.
In the long term, though, it’s a chance to bet on himself. For years, there’s been a debate in NBA circles about who is the lead dog in Oklahoma City. Was it Durant, the cool, calm and collected gunner, arguably the best and purest scorer in the NBA? Or was it Westbrook, the muscle-bound fireball who plays with an uncontrolled rage and aggression that makes it impossible to take your eyes off him?
That question no longer is relevant. And, in the wake of Durant’s departure, Westbrook seems like a mortal lock to claim the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. These honors often wind up being driven by narratives – even in today’s stats-driven environment. And there will be no narrative more powerful than Westbrook, after Durant chose to leave for the team that beat the Thunder in the Western Conference finals, deciding to stay in Oklahoma City and keeping the Thunder in the thick of the Western Conference playoffs.
The fact Westbrook averaged a staggering 31.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists after the All-Star break in 2014-15, when Durant was sidelined with a broken foot, only reinforces his candidacy.
For the Thunder, too, the benefits are obvious. When Durant left, many thought it was a matter of when, not if, Westbrook would be traded, with the most likely betting being placed on the deal coming before the start of this season, given the fact there was only one year remaining on Westbrook’s contract.
Now, the Thunder can be assured it will have its star point guard on the team for this entire season – assuming it wants him to be. If things go badly, be it because of injuries or ineffectiveness of the players around him, Westbrook will have even more trade value if Presti decided he needed to move him before February’s trade deadline.
In the long term, though, the move at least gives the Thunder a chance to keep Westbrook in Oklahoma City for a long time. Durant’s decision enraged many across the league, who saw his leaving Oklahoma City not as an anomaly created by a long series of events breaking in certain directions, but as the final nail in the coffin for small-market teams. If a player like Durant wouldn’t be willing to stay with an organization like the Thunder, why would anyone stay in any small market?
That anger is important to remember as the league and the National Basketball Players’ Association continue negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement over the next year. There are any number of avenues the league could take to try to prevent players from wanting to go elsewhere – removing max salaries and implementing some sort of franchise tag are two possibilities.
And if any of those possibilities come to pass, the Thunder now have Westbrook tied to the club beyond the implementation of any new CBA, which would allow Oklahoma City to enjoy the benefits of any team-friendly changes.
For the league as a whole, the biggest impact of all is Westbrook now being off the board in free agency next summer. There was a long list of teams – including the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls – expected to make a run at Westbrook.
With Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and Curry and Durant almost certain to stick in Golden State, expect most speculation about the future to surround a different pair of teammates – Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
None of that will matter in Oklahoma City, though. A month ago, Durant seemingly closed the door on an era in the Thunder’s history. But with his decision to extend his contract, Westbrook has – at least for now – kicked it back open.