The Oklahoma City Thunder may still lose point guard Russell Westbrook despite his statements that he is not looking for a new team to play for next season.
Rumors claim that the Denver Nuggets are willing to trade power forward Kenneth Faried and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay for Westbrook.
Mobile & Apps pointed out that Westbrook could be a key ingredient for the Nuggets to improve their team standings in the Northwest Division of the league's Western Conference. His current season stats of 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 18.8 percent PIE per game could help lift the Nuggets' standings, together with point guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic.
However, Denver Stiffs speculated that the Thunder could only agree to a trade with the Nuggets if the team will get small forward Danilo Gallinari, shooting guard Will Barton and power forward/center Joffrey Lauvergne instead of Mudiay and Faried. The team might also require the Nuggets to accept small forward Kyle Singler instead of Westbrook.
But it seems like the OKC Thunder will try everything that they can to hold onto Westbrook for the next NBA season. According to reports, the Thunder will try to extend the contract of the 27-year-old five-time NBA All-Star member in order to prevent another unexpected move from one of the team's star players. This was exactly what happened to the team when Kevin Durant decided to sign up with the Golden State Warriors in early July.
At the moment, Westbrook already told the Thunder camp that he has no intentions of being traded to another team, but he also has yet to sign up for a contract extension with the team as of today. Westbrook's next steps are expected to be revealed before the 2016-2017 NBA season begins on Oct. 25.
