Russell Westbrook is now considered a hero for the Oklahoma City Thunder and also being praised for his "loyalty."
The summer of 2016 was dominated by the league-changing decision of Kevin Durant to join the most formidable team in the NBA. For his decision to join a better team (which would have been lauded in any other industry) he was called a coward, a villain or worse.
On the other hand, Westbrook was seen as a hero because he didn't leave. What some people miss is that Westbrook couldn't leave if he wanted to. He's not a free agent.
Beyond that, Russell Westbrook also signed a contract extension hereby eliminating his chance to become a free agent in 2017. His announcement came with the bold caption "Loyalty is something I stand by."
That sounds like a nice storyline for the NBA to build on-hero vs villain, the scorned partner out for vengeance, but is it really accurate?
According to Forbes contributor Brian Mazique, the loyalty declaration could "come back to bite him."
"If Westbrook bolts OKC in 2018 for a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, New York Knicks-or any other team that appears to be in a better position to win a championship, you can bet there will be social media messages saying: 'so much for loyalty.'"
While it looks good that Westbrook will stay in OKC, let's not forget that his extension comes with a raise of $8 million for this season, something he could not get if he was traded to another team. Most anyone in the world would agree to stay if that much money was involved. Durant was one example.
While the sympathy is always on the player left behind, it should be noted that Durant chose to walk away from more money in OKC just to be free from Westbrook. There must be a reason for that.
Speaking of reasons, SB Nation top hoops scribe Tom Ziller also agreed that money played a part in Westbrook's "loyalty."
"A key reason Westbrook chose this route is because he wants to sign his next long-term deal once he has 10 years of service in the league. With 10 years under his belt, he can sign a deal starting at 35 percent of the cap in lieu of 30 percent. With a $100 million salary cap, that's an additional $5 million in the first year and just under $45 million over a five-year deal (factoring in raises)."
Westbrook is now touted as an MVP candidate, projected to have monster stats. That's fine, but how many games will they win? And if the answer is not so favorable, how long will Westbrook be "loyal?"