The drama has played itself out, according to Sam Amick, and all egos aboard the Oklahoma City Thunder have been assuaged. Kevin Durant already had his payday and Russell Westbrook was given his today with the announced five-year $80 million extension for the star point guard. That keeps the tandem together through the 2015-16 season, when Durant’s contract will be up.
Earlier this year, there was a dramatic encounter between the two on Dec. 29 when Durant and Westbrook got into it on the bench. Durant was trying to calm his teammate and things only became more heated, leading many to wonder whether the two could co-exist. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated now says those days are behind the Thunder now and calls the situation “”http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/01/19/russell.westbrook/index.html" target="new">too good to be true" for Sam Presti and company.
“Westbrook could have made life harder on Presti, deciding to play this season out and potentially push for a five-year, $94 million deal like Rose was recently given so long as the he was deemed All-NBA or an All-Star for a second time. It’s part of the league’s new “Rose rule” that allows a max deal to account for 30 percent of the salary cap as opposed to 25 percent, like Westbrook’s deal.
“There is more work to be done for Presti, as the contracts of guard James Harden and forward Serge Ibaka (both signed through 2013) now move up on his list of priorities. But it all gets easier with Durant and Westbrook re-signed and on the same pay scale, and this too-good-to-be-true Thunder team that fell to Dallas in the Western Conference finals last May is in an even better place than before because of it.”