Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is on a tear with fellow star Kevin Durant sidelined after another foot procedure. With Durant set to become a free agent in 2016, ESPN analyst and former NBA executive Tom Penn thinks these factors will make it "much more likely that Durant ultimately gets traded next year."
LOL no the Thunder aren’t trading Kevin Durant
ESPN NBA analyst Tom Penn thinks the Thunder may trade Durant next year because of Russell Westbrook’s breakout without him. That’s ... not happening.
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Wait, what?
The idea of trading Durant seems ludicrous, even with Westbrook putting up historic numbers without him. And yes, the numbers have been historic. Since Durant went out again, Westbrook has averaged 34.4 points, 11.6 assists and 10.9 rebounds while shooting 43.5 percent from the field in eight games.
But even with these numbers, we’ve still seen some late-game warts because Westbrook often feels the need to do too much or is worn out by doing too much. That sometimes happens with Durant around, too, but having another one of the best players in the world on the team certainly helps matters. The Thunder are better when both of them are playing, and there’s little doubt about it.
"I think this burst from Westbrook makes it much more likely that Durant ultimately gets traded next year. ... Sam Presti has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing. So he traded James Harden a year early to avoid a potential luxury tax problem a year later.
"The Kevin Durant drumbeat next year is going to be so loud because he will not commit early to Oklahoma City contractually because the rules are against that. He can't get the same contract if he signs early as if he just goes to free agency and resigns.
So if Sam Presti doesn't get that commitment, he'll look to to trade Kevin Durant. And looking at the performance of Westbrook and the team around Westbrook will make it easier for him to do that potentially."
So, would trading Durant make a lick of sense?
Why Thunder would trade Durant
As mentioned, Durant will be a free agent in 2016, and there has already been speculation that Durant will leave if the Thunder don't win a title. Fans in Washington like to fantasize about him coming home like LeBron James did, but with the cap set to explode, plenty of other teams will also be in pursuit.
If Durant won’t make a firm commitment to Oklahoma City, perhaps general manager Sam Presti explores options so he doesn’t lose his star for nothing. Okay, yeah, this probably isn’t happening.
Why Thunder wouldn’t trade Durant
The Thunder won’t trade Durant because of course they won’t trade Durant. He’s one of the top three players in the world when healthy along with James and Anthony Davis. He’s the centerpiece of the franchise, even with Westbrook going off now. Do people not remember what Durant did last season when Westbrook was out?
The James Harden comparison really isn’t apt, because Harden was the third banana on that team and there were some luxury tax issues to navigate. Just because the Thunder didn’t want to pay top dollar to Harden (and they did offer close to the max that they could offer) and wound up trading him, doesn’t mean the same thing will happen to Durant. Oklahoma City will offer the maximum contract they can, which will be more than any other team can offer. Durant has shown little indication he wants to be anywhere else.
Likelihood of Thunder trading Durant
The Thunder are going to do all they can to make sure Durant is in Oklahoma City for the long haul. The only way they trade him is if he explicitly tells them he’s not coming back, and it’s hard to see that happening. I can never say anything in the NBA is impossible, but this is pretty darn close.
I give this a 0.1/10 chance of happening.
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