There isn’t much left to say about Russell Westbrook‘s remarkable season. The hyperbole’s all been used up, and every bit of it was justified. And pay no attention to the wonks who want to argue that someone other than Russ is this season’s MVP. They are grossly over-thinking it. Russ is the MVP, and it’s not even a debate. I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise (and by “fight,” I mean politely disagree).
But he and the Thunder also promptly got bounced right out of the first round of the playoffs, which leads to a much more compelling question. What do the Thunder have to do this offseason to make sure that doesn’t happen again next year? Or better yet, what can they do?
The difficult truth about the Season of Russ was that it was largely born out of necessity. The Thunder were pretty awful when he wasn’t on the floor, and by sheer force of will he dragged an otherwise mediocre squad by its Kyle Singler hair to 47 wins (just eight fewer than last season) and a sixth place finish in the loaded West.
For this and many other reasons, Westbrook is beloved around Oklahoma City. His charitable work in children’s literacy and with impoverished families have had a tremendous impact on his community. More generally speaking, folks around OKC appreciate his loyalty, particularly in light of Kevin Durant’s defection to the Warriors.
As a symbol of that commitment, he signed a contract extension last fall to remain with the team on a multi-year deal. He’s eligible for yet another max-level extension this offseason that would be worth more than $200 million over five years. Either way, it sure sounds like plans on sticking around. Otherwise, what’s the meaning of his commercial?
But the Thunder are in a quagmire with the rest of the roster. Andre Roberson and Taj Gibson will both enter free agency, and the organization should probably do everything in their power to retain them. Gibson is a scrappy vet who plays defense and can knock down open shots when necessary. Roberson is also a tenacious defender, but his brutal shooting will make paying him big money that much more of a bitter pill, especially with their overall payroll already heading toward luxury tax territory.
They’re more or less stuck with the rest of their personnel, at least for now. Victor Oladipo is set to earn more than $80 million over the next four years, and that’s a frightening thought given his underwhelming production. He’s simply not a reliable second option, nor is he particularly capable of spelling Westbrook as a backup point guard.
Enes Kanter, who they owe $36 million over the next two seasons, proved himself useless against the Rockets (and by proxy, most other teams in the West) in the playoffs. Billy Donovan said so himself. There’s probably still a market for a scoring forward who is also a defensive liability, but the Thunder might not get much in return. Still, it’d be helpful to get him off the books and give themselves a little more wiggle room this summer.
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding Blake Griffin, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent and who also just happens to be an Oklahoma City native. But that’s little more than a pie-in-the-sky scenario. The Thunder are essentially capped out, and the Clippers can offer him the most money. Doing that would also allow him to stay in Los Angeles. You know, where all of his celebrity friends live.
The Thunder might be relegated to developing the young talent they already have, and that’s not necessarily such a bad thing. Domantas Sabonis, Alex Abrines, and Jerami Grant are all intriguing prospects. Not to mention Dougie McBuckets.
Life would be a lot easier for Russ if, like James Harden, he were surrounded by more reliable shooters. This would require Donovan to retool the offense a bit and, of course, would require Westbrook to put a little more trust in his teammates. In his defense, the results of that were mostly disastrous this past season. But unless they are somehow able to lure a marquee free agent AND figure out a way to pay them market value, they might not have much of a choice.
Sam Presti is going to have to get creative this summer, and even then, this Thunder team still might look a lot like it did last season. Which means we may have another big Russ season ahead of us, for better or worse.
