Lakers trade target Russell Westbrook reportedly is closing in one a contract extension with the Thunder
Over the course of the past few weeks, the rumors around the NBA have seemed to point to the Los Angeles Lakers trying to make a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder for All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. While there was nothing definite, that’s the way everything looked to be heading toward.
However, everything can always change in an instant in the NBA and that seems to 100 percent be the case with the Lakers, Russell Westbrook, and the Thunder.
As of Wednesday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical is reporting that Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook are nearing a contract extension. This renegotiation of Westbrook’s contract would pay him three years, $85 million with a player option for the 2018-19 NBA season.
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To get the obvious out of the way, Westbrook signing an extension with the Thunder wouldn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of a future trade. However, the fact that OKC would be willing to commit to Russ relatively long-term and that Westbrook and his camp would be willing to sign on would seemingly eliminate any chance for a Lakers trade or a deal with any other team.
In fairness, there’s a quality chance that the Lakers and Westbrook would never have been united in any front? Would the Lakers either have ever risen to the asking price of the Thunder or have gotten OKC to compromise on their package? There’s absolutely no way of knowing at this point.
However, it seems abundantly clear now that the only thing Lakers fans can expect is for their top trade target almost surely isn’t going anywhere as of right now. Maybe that’s missing out on an All-Star for the Lakers—or maybe it’s exactly what the young core in LA needs.