Last offseason, OKC Thunder's long time franchise player Kevin Durant surprise the world by signing with the Golden State Warriors. And now that Durant is gone, it was very clear that Oklahoma City Thunder is Russell Westbrook's team now. Westbrook is now proving that he can lead the Thunder as they are doing just fine without KD.
At 8-7 win-loss record, the OKC Thunder are at the 6th spot in the Western Conference. They lost 2 in a row but they are still a playoff team even without Kevin Durant. And as usual, it was Russell Westbrook who carried the team to a lot of victories.
In his first 15 games as the Thunder's franchise player, he is averaging almost a triple-double with 31.8 points, 10.6 assists and 9.5 rebounds. He is first in scoring, 14th in rebounds and second in assists. He is really a one-man wrecking crew.
Aside from Westbrook's dominance, Victor Oladipo and Steven Adams are also having a stellar season. Oladipo is the current sidekick of Westbrook as he is averaging 16.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Adams on the other hand, is OKC's strongest force down low as he averages 10.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
But despite the fact that the Thunder is doing just fine without Durant, a problem still exists. For them to dig deep in the playoffs this year, they need another veteran scorer who could help Westbrook, Oladipo and Adams on offense. And according to iSports Times, OKC Thunder is interested in acquiring Sacramento Kings' veteran forward Rudy Gay.
Rudy Gay is the 8th overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2006 NBA Draft but was traded to the Kings on that same night. In his 10 years with the league, he is averaging 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 723 NBA regular season games. He played for Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors and now with the Sacramento Kings, as per Wikipedia.
If the Thunder would find a way to get Gay, the team will benefit a lot. Gay is a well-known scorer. If he would be on Thunder's roster, they could compete with other teams in trading baskets as Gay is averaging 20.5 points this season. He can also attract more defenders from opposing teams which would give more opportunities for Westbrook and others to score.
Will Rudy Gay be the new sidekick for Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City Thunder? Stay tuned for more NBA trade rumors and updates.
