Monday morning [July 4] served a bowl of mixed emotions that couldn’t be sorted out well enough. NBA superstar Kevin Durant decided to take his talents to the Golden State Warriors roster. There is now a gap in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s roster and Russell Westbrook is in the middle of it.
General Manager Sam Presti kept in contact with Russell Westbrook as Durant’s decision was made. On Monday evening, Presti said, “He’s a true leader that takes it on… And I think he’ll take this on as well.” OKC is looking to rebuild and trade talk involving Westbrook stirred conversation. Westbrook would become a free agent next summer, so many felt they should look to rebuild the team now.
“In terms of moving forward, obviously we have a lot of different scenarios we planned for,” said Presti. “We’ve always shown we’re not going to be deterred. We’re going to continue to advance.” Presti has been GM for the Thunder since their days being the Seattle SuperSonics, back in 2007.
Westbrook averaged 23.5 points per-game along with 7.8 rebounds and 10.4 assist per-game. His numbers are incredibly good, but he can’t get it done on his own. With the “scenarios” playing themselves out, we’ll see what could happen for the Thunder. Will Westbrook break free at the end of next season? We’ll have to wait and see.