With the Durant/Westbrook era officially being over in Oklahoma City the Thunder have another tough decision to make with their lone superstar. Russell Westbrook is set to become a free agent next summer and the Thunder can not afford to let him walk away for nothing as Kevin Durant just did. According to The Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck a decision on what to do with Westbrook has likely already been made.
“Let’s just say there’s a very strong suspicion, a strong belief among rival GM’s that Russell Westbrook is not intending to stay, that he would leave next summer when he hits free agency. And because of that the logical next step is that (Thunder GM) Sam Presti who is always ahead of the curve on these things will look to trade him. I don’t know that that’s happening right this moment.”
Beck went on to discuss which team will likely land Westbrook if the trade happens.
“What I’m hearing here in Las Vegas from some GM’s is that not only do they think Westbrook will get traded, that it’ll be sooner rather than later, probably before the season starts. And that the most likely destination right now would be the Boston Celtics.”
The Celtics have a nice collection of young talent and draft picks that they can trade to land the superstar. They run the risk however of making a trade Westbrook and having him walk away a free man next season if he decides he wants to play elsewhere. It would be hard to walk away from such a historic franchise who appears to be on the come up, but in this day and age nothing is guaranteed.
As for the Thunder you have up until the trade deadline to see where Westbrook’s heart is. One thing is for sure though they can’t afford to let the best player remaining on their roster leave without gaining valuable assets in return.