In the latest NBA rumor, it appears the Oklahoma City Thunder would like to add Blake Griffin to their team alongside star guard Russell Westbrook.
NBA rumors from sources around the league indicate that the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to bring NBA All-Star Blake Griffin from the Clippers to the Thunder. That would pair the explosive Griffin with the dynamic Russell Westbrook, and potentially put OKC back in the mix of contenders for the championship.
The news via Yahoo! Sports comes on the heels of the Thunder rescinding an offer to guard Dion Waiters. That made Waiters an unrestricted free agent and gives Oklahoma City the ability to keep Westbrook and attempt to bring 2017 free agent Blake Griffin into the mix.
This all could be the key bargaining chip for OKC as they look to ensure that Westbrook stays with the team and doesn’t take his services elsewhere. During the most recent postseason, the Thunder were on the brink of defeating the Golden State Warriors, showing they were still a team to contend with. However, after falling in seven games, Westbrook’s longtime teammate and fellow superstar Kevin Duran skipped town and signed with the opposing team.
The move makes a lot of sense in terms of Griffin’s history too. He was born in Oklahoma City and played high school and college ball within the state. Bringing a hometown hero in to replace the former hero of OKC would probably be a huge move to restore fans’ faith in the franchise as they attempt to remain contenders. Of course, Griffin would also need to stay healthy and out of trouble.
The team made several offseason acquisitions including bringing in talented guard Victor Oladipo from the Orlando Magic, while trading away Serge Ibaka. On paper, they still appear to be a potential playoff squad for the upcoming season, but time will tell in the upcoming campaign. For the sake of the Thunder organization, they’ll hope they can keep Westbrook interested in remaining part of their attempts to grab that first championship.
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