Westbrook Agrees to Contract Extension

Picture Westbrook posted on Twitter after agreeing to extension

Russell Westbrook decided to sign an extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder worth $85 million over three years. This changes everything for the Thunder. Essentially Westbrook just saved the Thunder from going into the lottery for years to come. The Thunder can now target big name free agents next summer and ultimately know their top player is locked in. Recruiting free agents will be easier if the recruits know Westbrook is not going anywhere. But as excited as Thunder fans may be of this news, why would Westbrook stay after they just lost Kevin Durant and traded Serge Ibaka this summer?

Mark D. Smith USA Today

For starters Westbrook will be making much more than he was set to make this coming season. Westbrook's salary going into next season was set at $17.8 million dollars, but after reconstructing next season in his extension he will make $26.5 million. Along with an instant salary increase this season he is also set to make $27.8 million in 2017-18. In his third year he will have a player option worth $30.6 million. Westbrook now has a salary that resembles his worth.

The second reason Westbrook would sign an extension through 2019 with a player option is because by 2018 he will a 10 year veteran. As a 10 year veteran players are allowed to take up 35% of the salary cap as opposed to 30% of the cap. Over the span of a five year max contract that can equal more than $40 million extra dollars to be made. With the cap increasing as well Westbrook will be in for a huge pay day once the summer of 2018 rolls around.

This extension also makes Westbrook look like a hero. Westbrook would never have been hated as much for leaving as Durant, but Oklahoma City fans would not have been happy with him. Now that he is staying he gives fans hope and paints a positive picture of himself. What better way to get fans to root for you than saying you hope you beat the guy who left you and say you are not going anywhere? Westbrook is setting out to make a statement and he means every word of it. The real question becomes will management help him? The Thunder still have a huge hole to fill with Durant gone. Westbrook signing this extension allows them to focus on putting talent around him. That's great, but Sam Presti cannot just be on idle for a year because he has Westbrook locked in. In order to keep Westbrook he has form a plan now to make the team better. If Presti fails to provide Westbrook with another high level running mate he will leave. And when he leaves he will get no flack. Everyone will be saying Sam Presti was given one last opportunity and failed to deliver. So all the pressure is on the Thunder to keep Westbrook happy these next two seasons.

Nate Billings. The Oklahoman

This extension puts Westbrook in a win-win situation. When players hit that decade mark with one team they are usually praised for their time with the team. If Westbrook goes through all the ups and downs in OKC he will be remembered for sticking it out for as long as he could, but if the situation never improves he has the right to leave. And fans, as heart broken as they may be, will cheer him when he returns because they will know he gave it his all. A great example would be when Kevin Garnett landed in Boston after playing 11 seasons with the Timberwolves. Minnesota fans still showed him love when he returned. Hopefully in Westbrook's situation the Thunder can quickly build another win now team. As the roster stands today the Thunder could be a 4-6 seed in the west. They also have a good chance at advancing to the second round of the playoffs. It is a good starting point, but they need to add another piece that will help them challenge the Spurs and Warriors. And that's where Presti will have to work his magic.