With the recent homecomings of Damian Lillard with the Trail Blazers and Chris Paul with the Clippers, many may now be wondering when the OKC Thunder might have a shot at a storied reunion of their own, particularly with beloved former cornerstone, Russell Westbrook.
Considering he still remains fully available on the free agency market, there's a realistic possibility that such a storybook turn of events could happen as soon as this summer.
Now, as things currently stand, Oklahoma City already has its 15 roster spots filled for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign. As a result, if they were actually interested in making such a signing, some sort of player-shedding move would need to be made just to clear out room for the veteran.
With this in mind, while it may be tough for GM Sam Presti to ultimately pull the trigger, should reuniting with Russ actually be a desire for the ball club, perhaps the most logical way of executing such a transaction may have to come on the heels of using Ousmane Dieng in a salary dump trade.
Thunder must move Ousmane Dieng to reunite with Russell Westbrook
After three full seasons with the organization, it's hard to ignore the fact that Dieng has been a complete and utter bust for the Thunder.
Selected 11 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, the forward has suited up for a total of 109 regular season games and boasts career averages of just 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds while seeing his minutes per game averages dwindle with every passing year.
Though he may have shown flashes of his on-court potential when seeing extended run down with the developmental team, where he averages 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, and even guided the OKC Blue to the 2024 G League Championship, due to his lacking role on this enviably deep Thunder squad he's yet to put his skills together consistently at the NBA level.
Should he stick around, he may never.
However, perhaps if he were to depart from the too stacked for their own good defending champs, there may actually still be hope for Dieng to save his career in the association, especially if he can land on a team where he can receive more attention from a developmental standpoint and a much longer leash from the club's coaching staff.
Teams such as the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets could all be viable destinations that could provide the 22-year-old with exactly this.
Of course, considering he's yet to prove himself to be remotely capable of living up to his lottery pick pedigree and is entering the 2025-26 season on an expiring deal, it's difficult to believe that any franchise would give the Thunder much more than salary relief in a hypothetical exchange for Dieng.
With that being said, if it results in a reunion with Westbrook on a minimum deal, admitting defeat and accepting a return of a roster spot being opened could be well worth it for Oklahoma City, the former MVP, and even Dieng himself.