Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook was honored as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player on Monday after a historic season in which he averaged a triple-double, the first player to do since Oscar Robertson in 1961/62. Royce Young of ESPN writes that Westbrook’s crowning moment was the crescendo of a complete change in his on and off-court demeanor.

A lot changed from 2016 to 2017: Westbrook’s co-star Kevin Durant departed for Golden State, Westbrook became the team’s go-to player, and rumors surrounding his possible departure became hot topic in the NBA and a possible nightmare for Thunder fans. The Thunder now have the option of offering Westbrook a mega deal for five years worth over $200MM. The outspoken Westbrook told reporters, including Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman, after receiving his award that his contractual situation was the last thing on his mind.

“Man, tonight is so important for me, and obviously with the contract and stuff coming up, it’s not really on my mind at the moment honestly,” Westbrook said. “I’m just overwhelmed with a tremendous amount of blessings I’ve been able to get to be able to get this award. Man, I’m just thinking about tonight, and then after that, I’ll move on.”

However, as Young mentioned, Westbrook needing to average a triple-double, while impressive, is not conducive to advancing younger talent or keeping Westbrook sharp. If the mercurial star stays in Oklahoma City, it will need to facilitate a culture where the entire team — not one player — are a part of the offense.

Here are some more notes surrounding the Thunder:

• Although Westbrook wasn’t eager to discuss a potential extension after winning the MVP, Young writes in his piece that those close to the star point guard expect him to accept an extension offer from the Thunder. That offer may come right when the clock strikes midnight on the morning of July 1, according to Young.
• Thunder general manager Sam Presti told Dawson (via Twitter) that the team tried to trade into the second round of last week’s draft, but nothing materialized.
• It’s been a big week for Andre Roberson, who was named to the All-Defensive team on Monday and also received a qualifying offer that will make him a restricted free agent this summer. Having heard from some critics who questioned his spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team, Roberson took to Twitter on Tuesday to tell those critics to “check the numbers.”

GM Sam Presti is “hopeful” that the Thunder can sign Russell Westbrook to a long-term extension this summer, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports.

“The rules are that you can’t have that conversation until July 1, and you know, when that time comes, we’ll sit down, we’ll have conversations with him about what that opportunity presents,” Presti said. “And you know, we’re obviously hopeful that he remains really excited about being a part of this organization for the remainder of his career.”

Westbrook will be eligible for a Designated Player Extension this summer. An agreement could yield him upwards of $217MM over five years, though those figures are not exact since it’s a product of next year’s salary cap which won’t be determined until July.

The point guard has a player option on the end of his current deal, meaning he could become a free agent during the 2018 offseason. Royce notes that should Westbrook not sign an extension this offseason, it may raise concerns that he is looking to leave OKC. If the Thunder enter next season without a long-term deal, they would justifiably have to at least listen to trade offers for the MVP Candidate. However, the front office isn’t playing out the doomsday scenario.

“Let’s not think so far ahead,” Presti said. “Let’s just see where the information takes us. I understand the question. I think the biggest thing is, we had that conversation with Russell last year, and you know, he was really clear, and it worked itself out. So before we get all the way down the road on what if, what if this happens, what if that happens: Again, that’s one of those things where we’re talking about a very complex question, a very complex situation with a lot of moving parts, and looking for, like, a simple answer to that.”

“So let’s just have the conversation, see where it goes,” Presti added. “I think everybody knows how we feel about him. He’s a transcendent player. I think he’s a futuristic player. I think he’s a tremendous competitor, and we’re fortunate to have him. We’ll have a conversation, and hopefully, it goes our way.”

Westbrook recently declared that Oklahoma City is where he wants to be. Young adds that the franchise feels like the extension Westbrook signed last offseason was just as much about committing to the organization as it was to financial security. The new Designated Player Exception will allow Westbrook to achieve both of those objectives in his next deal and Presti is thankful for the CBA’s new resource.

“I think it is a good thing for the league, right,” Presti said of the new extension. “I think it’s important for franchises, especially outside of a handful, to be able to have the opportunity to keep their best players.That’s probably healthy. If you’re serious about having like a competitive balance and serious about lauding sustainability and things of that nature, like then the rules need to kind of align with that. Unfortunately the last CBA, they didn’t, and this CBA, they did. You know, I think it’s positive that those things are in place for a lot of cities.”

The GM was asked about whether or not the team planned to add another star to pair with Westbrook and the league will certainly hear about his response. “The first thing I’m going to do is go back to the office and call Adam Silver and see if he can arrange one of those cap spikes,” Presti said. “I’m learning those things tend to come in handy.”

The salary cap increased so drastically over the last two seasons because of the league’s historic television deal.It resulted in teams gaining exorbitant amounts of cap space. That’s how the Warriors were able to sign Kevin Durant away from the Thunder, though it may have never occurred had the “smoothing” proposal gained enough support. The proposal, which had support from the Thunder organization, would have increased the cap at a much slower rate from year-to-year. It was shot down back in 2015.