This offseason we have seen record-breaking contracts from Steph Curry and James Harden. The salary cap has increased so much that NBA players contracts are reaching record-breaking heights this year. Just a day ago ESPN reported that last years Most Valuable Player has signed a massive extension deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even before the acquisition of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook has expressed his commitment and desire to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder for years to come.
Oklahoma holds on to last years league MVP
There have been rumors that Russell Westbrook is having second thoughts on signing a new contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Westbrook quickly erased all those rumors yesterday. Adrian Wojnarowski of NBA ESPN has reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Russell Westbrook have agreed to a five-year 205 million dollar contract. Sam Presti and Thad Foucher (Westbrooks agent) finalized the deal on Friday. This shows that even though there is a huge uncertainty on whether Paul George will stay with the team after this season, Russell Westbrook is still committed to staying in Oklahoma. After single-handedly leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA playoffs last year, he now has a chance to make OKC a championship team with Paul George and Carmelo Anthony on board.
Russell Westbrook was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the 2008 NBA draft with the fourth overall pick. For a number of Westbrook's stay in Oklahoma, he has played alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden. But ever since the departure of Durant and Harden Russell Westbrook has propelled from the all-star level to the Most Valuable Player in the NBA.
In his nine seasons in the NBA, he has played a total of 668 games averaging 23.8 points, 2.2 steals, 2.6 assists, and 5.4 rebounds. But last year he had an incredible season, averaging a triple-double and recording a career high in three-point shooting percentage and free throw percentage. He averaged 31.6 points, 10.4 assists, and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from the three-point line, and 84.5 percent from the charity stripe.
NBA predicts salary cap to hit 108 million dollars for 2019-2020 season
Shams Charania of The Vertical has reported that the NBA has informed teams on their salary cap predictions for the next couple of years. They predict that the salary cap next season will be 101 million dollars and 108 million dollars for 2019-2020. The increased predictions are due to the new jersey sponsorship deal this season.
