Thank you, Russell Westbrook; a trip down memory lane
By Rylan Stiles
The Oklahoma City made their biggest offseason splash, ever.
Trading James Harden right before the next year following a run to the Finals was a huge splash. But when the franchise hit a crossroad after Kevin Durant left, no one knew how the team would rebuild.
That is when disgruntled star Paul George was put on the trade block by Indiana. After George told the team he would not return to the Pacers that summer and all indications pointed to him wanting to return home to play in L.A., the Pacers were forced to move him.
Sam Presti dealt for George in the middle of the night, trading Victor Olidipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers in return for the All-Star forward to pair with Russell Westbrook.
That in itself was a great offseason. The Thunder once again had two stars, and once again thought they could contend. After Westbrook carried a squad of decent to below-average players to the NBA playoffs, he now has a star by his side again.
That was not the only move though, Sam Presti nabbed another disgruntled star away from his situation when he traded Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott to the New York Knicks in return for future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony and created a big three of their own…in terms of names. It was clear when the season started, Steven Adams was the third-best player, not Anthony.
Those two additions were not the end of the Thunder’s offseason.
On September 29th, Kevin Durant’s birthday, in 2016 Russell Westbrook inked his supermax deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Presumably keeping the face of the franchise in OKC for five more years.
Expectations ran high for the OKC Thunder, and rightfully so, the team had two All-Stars and a future hall of famer to go along with the likes of Steven Adams and defensive mastermind Andre Roberson.