Kevin Durant’s decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder could very well end up leading to the team’s other star player to leave the franchise as well.
Russell Westbrook, who was drafted by the Thunder a year after Durant, will see his contract expire after next season. A report said the Thunder wanted to see if he was open to renegotiating his deal so they could lock him up longterm, but it doesn’t sound like he will give the team that chance.
Told emphatically by league source there's no chance Russell Westbrook will do a renegotiation/extension of his contract (one yr remaining).
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 4, 2016
Though this piece of information sounds ominous for the Thunder, it does not necessarily mean they will not be able to re-sign Westbrook after next season. With the salary cap increasing next year, Westbrook can expect to make more money if he waits until next offseason to sign, so it’s in his best financial interest to wait.
However, the Thunder may want to push to get a sense of whether or not Westbrook will want to re-sign with them, because if they learn he doesn’t, they may try to trade him to get some valuable assets in return.
