The Oklahoma City Thunder has been able to find a way to win this season, even though for the majority of the time they couldn’t rely on Kevin Durant. Last season’s Most Valuable Player has been on the sidelines for a pretty large portion of time, due to multiple injuries. While he has worked on his return, Russell Westbrook has been able to fill successfully in for him. Not only that, but the point-guard has done it in a pretty amazing way – notching triple-double after triple-double – five in the last six games, to be exact.
The amazing play of Westbrook makes it very likely that Durant could be on the trade block next year. Oklahoma City has been doing pretty well without him, winning games and playing fast-paced basketball that is hard to defend against to. Furthermore, Durant’s current contract is valid until the summer of 2016, and he won’t have the option to re-sign a big deal, because there are certain NBA rules that won’t allow that to happen. The former MVP could receive a lot more money if he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2016 and then sign with a team than to re-sign at the moment with OKC. Thunder’s general manager, Sam Presti, has proven to everyone that he is more willing to trade someone than lose him in free agency – just look at the James Harden case.
“So if Sam Presti doesn’t get that commitment, he’ll look 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.”
It is a very bold prediction that Kevin Durant will leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it’s not something entirely impossible. Westbrook has indeed shown some serious leadership quality and is a candidate for the MVP award this season. Furthermore, it would be very interesting to see what role is Durant going to take after he returns from his injury, as Westbrook has been terrific as the first option in OKC.
NBA Rumors: Will Oklahoma City Thunder deal Kevin Durant next season?
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