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Russell Westbrook undoubtedly expressed his loyalty to the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise when he signed an extension over the summer.
He also made a shrewd business decision.
By restructuring his contract in the way that he did, Westbrook can opt out and become a free agent in the summer of 2018. That's a really good idea because by then, he will be a 10-year veteran in the league and therefore able to sign the biggest possible max contract.
And there's a good chance that contract could be worth $200 million.
The Thunder just completed a “renegotiate-and-extend” deal with their remaining franchise player, increasing his 2016-17 salary to $26.5 million while extending his contract through 2018-19. The final season has a player option, meaning Westbrook can become a free agent in either 2018 or 2019. If he becomes a free agent in 2018, he will be 29, likely still in his prime and have exactly 10 years in the league. Should he choose to re-sign with the Thunder, his contract could start at a projected $35.5 million and could total $204.1 million. If he waits until 2019, he could start at a projected $35.8 million and his contract could total nearly $206 million.
That's a lot of zeros.
The NBA salary skyrocketed this summer and we saw all kinds of contracts being signed like never before. It's not done rising and what that means is pretty soon, the best NBA players are going to start making $200 million. Westbrook may be the first.
The question becomes if Westbrook is still going to be worth a max contract two years down the road. He's absolutely in his prime right now but he'll be turning 30 in two years. If he starts to decline, maybe he won't be the maximum player we see him as today.
It could easily go the other way. With Kevin Durant out of the picture, we get to see what exactly Westbrook is capable of running his own team. The result may be magnificent.
