Thunderous Thoughts: Russell Westbrook’s latest extension
Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, a weekly look at the OKC Thunder. This week we’ll discuss everyone’s favorite topic: Russell Westbrook and extensions.
Russell Westbrook signed a 10-year extension this week that will make him the face of a franchise. The Jordan Brand franchise. It’s not the extension that OKC Thunder fans were hoping for, but there are some positives to take away from this deal.
More Great Commercials
Now here’s something we can all agree on. Russell Westbrook ran the commercial game last year.
Do you know how many times I heard this song at high school basketball games? Literally every game I went to. They played this song and everyone in attendance did their best Westbrook dancing impression. Myself include. Because I wanted to fit in.
“Westbrook does what he wants” was the overwhelming narrative last regular season. It all started with that commercial. And it all ended with this one:
Hopefully, we get more season defining commercials from Westbrook and the Jordan brand in the coming years.
Westbrook Can Commit
If he’s willing to sign a 10-year deal with a shoe brand, signing a 6-year deal with a basketball team should be no problem, right? In fact, maybe Westbrook hasn’t signed the triple double extension because it’s only a 6-year deal.
Is there any way that Sam Presti can trick Adam Silver into allowing him to sign Westbrook to a 20-year deal? Granted, the deal will go sour in a year when OKC can no longer afford to pay Westbrook. They’ll try to let Westbrook leave on good terms, but Russ will refuse to pass the team to Semaj Christon. It’ll all lead to the OKC screw job, the biggest scandal in NBA history and a storyline that will be brought up by Bill Simmons more than the James Harden trade.
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Maybe a 20-year deal isn’t the best idea.
But at least we know that Westbrook is willing to commit long-term to something. A wife and kid probably should have tipped us off to this fact, but we needed contractual proof. Now, we have it.
Market Doesn’t Matter
That’s not a total truth. Market does matter, especially if your owner isn’t willing to spend a bunch of money. But market doesn’t matter when you’re as transcendent as Russell Westbrook.
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The fact that Westbrook will become the face of the Jordan brand despite playing in Oklahoma City shows that he doesn’t need to be in California or New York to get recognized. Westbrook is doing everything he wants to do in life despite playing in a city with only barns. I’ve never been to Oklahoma City, I just assume it’s only barns based on what the national media tells me. Barns and Chesapeake Energy Arena, which is just a giant barn when you think about it.
If Westbrook can be everything he is while still playing in Oklahoma City, hopefully that means he’s less likely to leave.
Of course, this could always backfire. Maybe Westbrook sees how much he’s accomplished in Oklahoma City and feels like he could do even more in California or New York. Maybe he thinks he could take over the world if he played in a larger market. He probably wouldn’t be wrong. If Russell Westbrook wants to rule the world, who is going to stop him? Not Patrick Beverley.
Forget everything I just said. Market matters. Or maybe it doesn’t.
Has the season started yet?