Russell Westbrook Inks 5-year, $80 Million Extension, So Forget About the Thunder Trading Him
Everyone can forget about all those fun and dreamy trade ideas involving Russell Westbrook, because the Thunder just extended him for 5-years and $80 million, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
So forget about trading Westbrook to Boston for Rajon Rondo (and parts) or to Orlando for Dwight Howard (and parts). The Lakers can cross him off whatever wish-list they might have had. Perish the thoughts of Westbrook going to Minnesota for Kevin Love, assuming you had thoughts about that in the first place.
Frankly, I’m a bit surprised at this move. Sam Presti and the Thunder are viewed as one of the smartest front offices in the league, and they’ve built a strong contender through free agency and the draft in just a few years. (It’s too early to say this missed on trading BJ Mullens, though he is playing great early for the Bobcats. He turns 23 next month.)
We all know Westbrook’s penchant for thinking he’s The Man, and he already had a mini kerfuffle with Kevin Durant earlier this season and was benched in the playoffs. Can the Thunder win a title with a shoot-first point guard who might have issues being a wingman? Westbrook is brilliant when the tempo is fast, but often struggles in the halfcourt (well, not if he gets isolated against Luke Ridnour). Would they have been better with Deron Williams, a pass-first point guard?
We’ll never know.

- Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama’s Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell’s Graduation 20 Years Ago
- John Tortorella And a Ref Dropped F-Bombs On Live TV During the Rangers-Bruins Game [Video]
- LeBron James and Paul George’s Epic Game 1 Battle Looks Even Cooler in Slow Motion [Video]
- Manchester City Players Were Super Excited To Catch Passes From Eli Manning [Video]
- Miami Heat Remix of Pitbull’s “Feel This Moment?” Dále!

- KC Resident on Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama's Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell's Graduation 20 Years Ago
- johndewar on Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama's Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell's Graduation 20 Years Ago
- A.P. on Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama's Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell's Graduation 20 Years Ago
- scripty on Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama's Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell's Graduation 20 Years Ago
- JaiAlai on Roundup: Alex Trebek Rapping on Jeopardy, Obama's Prom Photos & Saved by the Bell's Graduation 20 Years Ago
24 Responses to “Russell Westbrook Inks 5-year, $80 Million Extension, So Forget About the Thunder Trading Him”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.






January 19th, 2012 at 2:02 PM
One less team to worry about over the next few years.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:05 PM
are you saying that contract is untradeable?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:06 PM
Is this a joke?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:06 PM
I like them to win the West.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:06 PM
I’m confident a team would trade for Russel Westbrook with a max contract. Wouldn’t the trading team have assumed thet would sign him to that anyways?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:07 PM
I think too much was made of the early season “kerfuffle”. This type of shit happens all the time.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:08 PM
On twitter, Westbrook asks if he’s worth $25 million more than Rondo.
The answer is of course no, but you can’t compare the two players like that. Rondo signed a dumb contract. He is grossly underpaid. If you use Rondo as your benchmark for a fair contract, you’ll never be able to sign anyone.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:09 PM
#7: Meant TBL asks if he’s worth more…
January 19th, 2012 at 2:11 PM
I’m still confused as to why they can’t trade him now.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:11 PM
Not that I think they will…
January 19th, 2012 at 2:12 PM
whew
January 19th, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Anyone but the Spurs or Heat.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:22 PM
Me too. But I like the word kerfuffle.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:28 PM
Don’t hate this. Trading him for another pg and etc., would have really been splitting hairs anyway. They have a core that teams die for now. As soon as he and Durant can find some balance…
January 19th, 2012 at 2:30 PM
Alright, at least it’s out of the way. Just need to find a way to extend Beard and Iblocka Flocka Flame.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:33 PM
NBA players make way too much money. Of course the true superstars deserve what they get (Kobe, LeBron, Durant, but the rest are way overpaid.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:33 PM
I’m not a huge fan of Westbrook (though I think he is really talented) but I agree with Jersey. Trading for another PG who might be slightly better doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I would pursue a trade for Howard but there’s no way Dwight agrees to play in OKC. Other than that, there really isn’t a deal that makes a lot of sense with how their roster is built.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:34 PM
They just need a new coach next.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:42 PM
The true superstars are probably underpaid. Westbrook’s deal is fine, It’s the Amir Johnson’s, Charlie V’s and Ben Gordon’s of the world that are really fucking shit up.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:44 PM
There’s no middle class which is a side effect of the salary cap and max contracts. I believe there are more players in the NBA that make $10MM+/year than make between $5MM and $10MM.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:45 PM
Some may be. Kobe or LeBron making about 25 million a year seems about right IMO.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:47 PM
bitch you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym
January 19th, 2012 at 3:37 PM
He signed a team friendly contract. Like Steve Nash.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Well Lebron makes 15. Kobe is fairly paid. Next year he will be drastically overpaid.