The Carmelo Anthony Trade Might Help The Thunder Keep Russell Westbrook


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Sam Presti is having one hell of an offseason, no? The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s general manager has made a pair of trades this summer that have helped the team re-establish itself as one of the premier teams in the league. Presti turned Enes Kanter, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Doug McDermott, and a second rounder they got in a previous trade into Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.

That’s an absolute haul for one starter, three role players/sometimes starters, and a draft pick. It’s an example of great general manager-ing: Presti noticed that two teams were desperate to get something back for superstars who want to leave town, swooped in, and was able to give them something back. You can very easily argue that the Thunder won both deals handedly. (I certainly would.)

But the secret to all of these moves that get the better of desperate teams is that these are the actions of a desperate general manager. Sure, Presti is sensing an opening and pouncing, but while all of these moves are happening, the impending free agency of Russell Westbrook is hanging over the Thunder.

Every move the Thunder have made this offseason have been made with the cloud of Westbrook’s unsigned contract extension hanging over the franchise. For a while, it seemed like it was an inevitability that Westbrook would put pen to paper and make a long-term commitment to the franchise. That has yet to happen, and now, the team is in a race against the clock, as the deadline for Westbrook to sign an extension is Oct. 16.

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But unlike most small-market teams, the Thunder decided to do something a little different. Instead of wondering how they will approach life after their superstar leaves, they saw that there’s a chance they could keep him around and pounced. They wanted to show that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to build a contender around Westbrook by going out and adding honest to god superstars.

Asking a player to make a commitment to a team is a lot, but it becomes a whole heck of a lot easier to make the argument that it’s something worth doing when the team goes out and makes a commitment to the player. And the Thunder didn’t just make a commitment to Westbrook, they went all-in, noticing that they might be falling behind in the arms race in the Western Conference and remedying the situation about as well as they could.

In George, the Thunder acquired the type of player who can run with Westbrook, keep the team going strong when Westbrook needs a break, and fill in some of the gaps that exist in the reigning MVP’s game (namely three-point shooting and defense). It’s putting a superstar in his prime next to another superstar in his prime, something that you see out of teams in major markets, not one as small as Oklahoma City.

But going even further, the Thunder decided to bring in one additional piece to throw alongside those two, someone whose ability to score and thrive as a third option is well-documented. In Anthony, they have a hungry and motivated veteran who understands his role — provide a scoring punch, space the floor, be there to hit shots when Westbrook and George blow by defenders and get him open looks.

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Is this trio, alongside players like Patrick Patterson and Enes Kanter, good enough to beat Golden State? Are they good enough to beat Houston or San Antonio? Who knows. But that’s almost beside the point. What Oklahoma City needed to do was make its case to Westbrook that he should sign an extension before the deadline passes. As of now, they seem to have done just that.

The brilliant thing about these trades, though, is that while the Thunder gave up a few young pieces to get George and Anthony, they still have their best young player (Steven Adams), along with other young pieces (Alex Abrines, Terrance Ferguson, Jerami Grant, Josh Huestis, etc.) that they could try and build around if Westbrook and George leave this summer.

Beyond that, should Oklahoma City lose Westbrook and George to free agency, it still has those aforementioned solid young players and potentially Anthony, who could trigger his early termination option next year but would cost himself just a hair under $28 million. If he were to do that, the Thunder would have a valuable trade chip in Anthony, who would boast a massive expiring contract and is the type of player that any contender would love — a hungry veteran who is willing to fit into any role with the hopes of winning a ring.

But if that all doesn’t happen and the Thunder are star-less after this season, Presti and the rest of the team’s front office can say that they went down swinging. They’ve certainly done enough to convince Westbrook (and George, for that matter) that Oklahoma City is a place that is willing to do whatever it takes to compete for a championship.

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