Kevin Durant may be gone, but the Oklahoma City Thunder’s future is still bright after keeping superstar point guard Russell Westbrook for years to come.
With Westbrook being the new face of the franchise, OKC is now looking to add pieces surrounding him to build a championship contender. It looks like Los Angeles Clippers star power forward Blake Griffin could be in their plans, as he will be a free agent in 2017.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical:
Durant is deleted. Done and gone and no longer part of his world. “What’s next?” he asked – and the Thunder connected with Westbrook on a plan to construct their next act. Once, it was James Harden and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Now, it’s a superstar solo act – with an eye upon Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin in 2017 free agency. Griffin is an Oklahoma kid gone Hollywood, a star who has his own tensions with Chris Paul on the Clippers.
The move definitely makes sense, as Griffin is from Oklahoma City and went there for college as well.
The Clippers have been a playoff contender for the past several years, but they have yet to get over the hump every time. Pairing with a younger and now arguably better point guard in Westbrook could be a move Griffin considers next year, while also representing his hometown.
I guess we will have to see what’s in store next year.