ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports on July 11th that Oklahoma has traded it’s franchise star, Russell Westbrook, to the Houston Rockets for guard Chris Paul. In addition Oklahoma City will receive a first round pick in 2024 and 2026 along with a pick swap in 2021 and 2025.

(For those unfamiliar with what a pick swap is: if Houston has a better pick than Oklahoma City in 2021 or 2025, we have the option to swap places in the draft with them.)

Rightfully so, Oklahoma City fans are shocked. Houston is certainly high on the list of enemies in their eyes (right above Patrick Beverly, but surely not surpassing Draymond Green).

“Well what’s the bright side to all of this? We just got an old Chris Paul for RUSS!”

The Thunder now have a treasure trove of draft assets. According to salary cap expert, Albert Nahmad, the Thunder have 15 first round draft picks between 2020 and 2026. This allows the Thunder to take swings at draft picks, with the goal of drafting their future cornerstone pieces. Thunder General Manager Sam Presti also has the ability to package those draft picks into deals for more established players in the future.

Athletic Reporter Sam Amick stated that “OKC does this deal with full anticipation that Chris Paul witll be a part of a good team”. We’ll have to see what Chris Paul has to say about that at this point in his career. Will he prefer to be moved again? Or would he enjoy the idea of playing for a city he is familiar with from his Oklahoma City Hornet days, and helping the development of young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

From the Rocket’s perspective, they achieve two goals: get off of Chris Paul’s contract (who will make $44 million in his age 36 season), and upgrade their roster to compete in the newly bolstered western conference.

I’d without a doubt anticipate more moves to be made by the Thunder. Andre Roberson, Dennis Schroder, and potentially more could be on the trade block. The Thunder’s new goal is painted clearly with yet another trade: acquire assets and develop young players.

Hey everybody!

I’ve been keeping track of all of the rumors and proposed trades the internet has thought up for our beloved Russell Westbrook. Here’s a bunch of for fun potential trades.

1. My favorite scenario, from one of my favorite Thunder podcasters, Andrew Schlecht.

Oklahoma City gets: Justise Winslow and Tyler Herro from Miami (and I would assume draft assets)

Dallas gets: Goran Dragic from Miami

Miami gets: Russell Westbrook

This brings back young talent for OKC, sheds the $170 million dollars they owe Russ, and is a “win now” move for both Miami and Dallas. Miami is always looking for star power, and Dallas gets a third major contributor to pair with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

2. A potential “throw-up-in-mouth” scenario, but we can hope for the best. May the trade machine save us all.

Minnesota gets: Russell Westbrook

Oklahoma City gets: Worst case scenario: Andrew Wiggins + one of Josh Okogie or Jarrett Culver. Best case scenario: the Wolves are able to shed the contract of Wiggins via a 3rd team, and OKC ends up with both young players + cap filler (most likely Jeff Teague).

I think Minnesota does this trade. They could accomplish two things: get rid of Andrew Wiggins, and pair up a legitimate star with the face of their franchise, Karl Anthony Towns. I love the idea of Texas Tech star Jarret Culver ending up on this team to pair with Shai, and Josh Okogie showed some real flashes of excellence last season as a 3-and-D wing.

3. Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin are sad together in Detroit.

Detroit gets: Russell Westbrook

Oklahoma City gets: Andre Drummond and Tony Snell + draft assets.

Look, no one would feel good about this trade. Detroit is in a rough spot and fans don’t really show up to their games, even with Blake Griffin. Why the hell not try and add another star and sacrifice your future by sending OKC an absorbent amount of draft picks? For OKC, this gives you two near-expiring contracts and more draft picks. This also assumes that you’re moving on from Steven Adams considering he and Andre Drummond play the same position. God help us all if this happens.

4. Last one! Let the KD v. Russ war continue forever!

New York gets: Russell Westbrook

Oklahoma City gets: RJ Barret, Kevin Knox, and necessary cap filler after NY free agents are eligible for trade, + draft assets. (Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis)

I would like to start by saying this will not happen. New York just came out and said they are going through with their youth movement after completely botching free agency. They have to stick by their young guys and build legitimately. Russ in New York would be great though, and New York would immediately love him more than Kevin Durant in Brooklyn solely on the reputation of the Knicks franchise. Is it worth sending Russ to basketball purgatory if only to watch him torment Kevin Durant for the next 4 years? Probably. Also RJ Barret and Kevin Knox are…something?

The Thunder as we have known them for over a decade are changing. The Chesapeake Energy arena has always known Russell Westbrook. Aside from our very first season back in 2008, it has always known winning. Sustaining a level of basketball excellence for over a decade is something the Thunder franchise has always hung it’s hat on, and now it faces a new reality: a rebuild.

On July 6th at 1:34am, ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski reported a trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for “a record-setting collection of draft choices”. This translated to 5 first round picks, and 2 pick swaps, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. This trade stood to be the beginning of what would be a forced rebuild for the Thunder. Paul George wanted the chance to play with top 3 player Kawhi Leonard as well as return to his home in Southern California, so he and his agent approached Thunder GM Sam Presti and requested a trade. Given the circumstances, Presti made the most of a bad situation.

For perspective, the Thunder acquired more assets for Paul George than the Pelicans received for Anthony Davis.

(This has been brought up by people much more qualified than I, but Sam Presti traded Serge Ibaka for Oladipo and Sabonis, which he then turned into Paul George, which he then turned into 5 first round picks. Just an unbelievable trade. We control our draft, the Clippers draft, and partially Miami’s draft for the next 5-7 years.)

The reality for the Thunder post-Paul George is that the team as currently constructed is not good enough to compete in the newly armed western conference, and the face of our franchise is now on the wrong side of 30 and heavily relies on athleticism to be a good basketball player. Oh, and Oklahoma City also owes him $170 million dollars over the next four seasons. The most logical move for the Thunder now is to move on from Russell. Give a man who has given the first decade of his career to this city a chance to win a title elsewhere, and hit the reset button on this team with Shae Gilgeous-Alexander as our new point guard and a massive hoard of draft assets.

Our most recent update on this story comes from Woj again, stating that “Russell Westbrook welcomes the idea of general manager Sam Presti engineering a trade that would bring an end to his illustrious, 11-year career with the franchise.”

The Thunder have also traded F Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets for a protected first round pick.