Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant (Photo : Sam Greenwood | Getty Images Sport)
The NBA General Managers need to have a lot of foresight and plan for every situation whether or not it concerns them.
Chances are, they could present opportunities in the future. Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder has officially lost Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors (as KD himself announced in The Player's Tribune), the next dilemma they have to face is Russell Westbrook, who will be a free agent at the end of next season. GMs of other teams should be quick to react on the various implications of that move.
There is a big possibility that Westbrook could find himself a home of his own. Even without Durant, the Thunder would be a playoff team, but they don't have the cap space or lottery picks to make a full rebuild as they have centered on winning the title to keep Durant. For all intents and purposes, that was probably the right thing to do.
However, there is always a risk and the worst case scenario has become a reality. Michael Pina of Real GM has explored the possibility that Westbrook could leave. "If Durant leaves, there's a good chance Russell Westbrook will follow his lead next summer."
As Pina noted, trading for Westbrook will bring along his Bird Rights which would allow a team to go over the cap to re-sign him in an anticipated five-year max contract. But that is a huge risk.
For Oklahoma, they would definitely maximize the one chance to gain assets on to build on.
A team that would swing for the fences would be the LA Lakers. The Tinseltown team still believes that they can get Westbrook to sign with them again if they take that risk. Westbrook projects as a "big city" kind of guy and he has serious ties with Los Angeles as he went to UCLA.
Pina suggests trading their best assets-D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram along with their 2021 first round pick. The Thunder could accept this package if they feel that Westbrook is leaving.
However, there's another team that could offer a better deal. The Minnesota Timberwolves could take a chance and offer Kris Dunn and Andrew Wiggins. The Thunder get more of a sure thing with Wiggins. Of course, this is assuming there's an understanding that Russ will re-sign with them.
This speculation was made even before Durant left and it gains some relevance now. Both the T-Wolves and the Lakers have to present themselves as competent teams since Westbrook would possibly not re-sign with them if they continue to lose.
