Following the Paul George trade that launched the Thunder’s rebuild, reports indicated Russell Westbrook may have wanted out before his now ex-superstar teammate. Either way, both reports make it clear Oklahoma City’s top-two players wanted to move on after yet another first-round exit from the NBA Playoffs.
But now there’s a new report stating differently. It’s not addressing who wanted out first between whether George or Westbrook. Instead, Howard Beck from Bleacher Report is reporting the Thunder were the ones who thought about ending the union with George and Westbrook.
The clock was already ticking loudly on the Westbrook era, with team officials quietly preparing to hit the reset button next summer, per sources, after one more run. George’s surprise trade request simply accelerated the process — and freed the Thunder to make the moves they knew were overdue for a team that couldn’t win a playoff series.
Based on the Alec Burks and Mike Muscala signings the Thunder lined up prior to George’s request — Burks signed with Golden State while Muscala joined the Thunder — it looked like Oklahoma City was preparing to contend in a deep Western Conference next season, not reset. What seems more likely is there could have been discussions of starting over, that’s it.
The prospect of throwing in the towel on the George-Westbrook era would have been a bold move by Thunder brass — and probably would’ve led to more backlash than they were ready for.
