Will Russell Westbrook still be on the Thunder to begin the 18-19 season?

[RealGM Polls]

1. Yes
2. No

[Sam195]

There are two reasons Westbrook likely stays with okc for rest of his career in 2018. First being that in 2018 Westbrook will be 30 and have 10 years of nba experience so Thunder will be only team that can offer him a 5 year max deal around 200M+ going through ages 30-35. Highly doubt Westbrook can land an annual salary of 40M+ around age 34 as a free agent if he took a shorter deal and left okc. 2nd reason is that now with Durant gone - Westbrook is the #1 guy on both the okc team and okc market - the same status Durant had when he negotiated a 10 year 300M shoe deal with Nike after winning his first and only mvp. Westbrook if he wins MVP or comes fairly close like James Harden two seasons ago can use that as leverage to ink his big ticket shoe deal paired with his next mega contract will be more than enough money to secure Westbrook and his family's future for generations regardless what market he plays in. Westbrook would also join a unique club of players to play in one city their entire career like Kobe and Duncan. The sonics drafted both Durant and Westbrook but the latter played in Seattle for a year before arriving in okc which kind of weakens his case of 1 team -1 career had Durant stayed with okc regardless.