The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing everything they can to avoid slipping into rebuilding mode now that Kevin Durant has left. If they can convince Russell Westbrook to stay beyond the upcoming season, they will try to bring in another superstar to pair with him.
The Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer to Dion Waiters on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports that the team’s goal is to have enough salary cap space to convince Westbrook to sign an extension and also make a run at Blake Griffin.
For Westbrook, the most likely scenario for a renegotiation would be to use the Thunder’s cap space to guarantee he will stay under contract with the Thunder through the 2017-18 season. This would give Oklahoma City the chance to recruit one of its top targets – 2017 free agent and Oklahoma native Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers – to partner with Westbrook, league sources said.
Griffin’s contract runs through the 2017-2018 season, but he can opt out of the final year next summer. It’s a virtual guarantee that he will go that route unless the Clippers trade him to a team he ends up signing an extension with.
The situation with Westbrook is complicated, as the Thunder want to build around him but are trying to avoid getting burned if he decides to leave via free agency next summer. Wojnarowski is also reporting that OKC has been informing interested teams Westbrook is not available for trade.
We know at least one other team that is said to be high on Griffin and working to swing a trade for him. Westbrook is supposedly excited about leading the Thunder’s young core next season, so OKC probably won’t want to give up any of those pieces in a trade for Griffin. It sounds like they’re hoping to sign him next summer instead.
As for Westbrook’s contract, the salary cap is set to increase significantly next offseason. It really makes no sense for him to sign an extension when he can make even more if he hits the market. For now, the Thunder will just have to hope reports like this indicate Westbrook is not planning to skip town.
