NBA rumors: Russell Westbrook won’t do extension with Thunder
By John Buhler
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook reportedly has no interest to do an extension or renegotiate a contract with the Thunder this offseason.
According to TNT’s David Aldridge, “there’s no chance that Russell Westbrook will do a renegotiation/extension of his contract” with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Aldridge then adds “that does not mean there’s no chance [Westbrook] could re-sign in [2017]” NBA free agency.
Told emphatically by league source there's no chance Russell Westbrook will do a renegotiation/extension of his contract (one yr remaining).
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 4, 2016
That does not mean there’s no chance W’Brook could re-sign in OKC in ‘17. It just makes no sense financially to do renegotiation/extension.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 4, 2016
This is a total no-brainer for Westbrook to make in the final year of his contract with the Thunder. He has been with the organization since going No. 4 in the 2008 NBA Draft after two years with the UCLA Bruins.
With former teammate Kevin Durant leaving in Oklahoma City in 2016 NBA free agency, it is in Westbrook’s best interest to enter summer 2017 as an unrestricted free agent as one of the best player available when the salary cap is set to explode even more than that impressive spike this summer.
Could Westbrook re-up on a long-term deal with the Thunder next summer? He certainly could, but if he does decide to come back in 2017-18, he’ll probably do it on a one-year deal with a player option for 2018-19. That way Westbrook would qualify for a super max contract after 10 years of service with the Thunder.
That being said, with Durant leaving small market Oklahoma City and Westbrook being wisely reluctant to signing either a new contract or renegotiating his current one, there’s strong reason to believe that Westbrook’s last season with the Thunder just might be the 2016-17 NBA campaign.
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