Did the Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly rescind Dion Waiters’ qualifying offer with a Blake Griffin pursuit in mind?
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports’ The Vertical wrote Tuesday, citing league sources, that rescinding Waiters’ qualifying offer protects salary cap space for Oklahoma City to persuade Russell Westbrook to renegotiate his contract. The Thunder reportedly would like to keep Westbrook, who’s currently slated to hit free agency next summer, under team control through the 2017-18 season.
League sources told Wojnarowski that such a renegotiation with Westbrook would give OKC the chance to recruit one of its top targets, Griffin, who can opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and become a free agent next offseason.
Both Westbrook and Griffin have been the subject of trade rumors — for Westbrook, the rumor mill has been churning since Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City and signed with the Golden State Warriors — but it’s entirely possible the Thunder point guard will stay put, especially if the organization can assure him it’s committed to building a championship contender sooner rather than later.
League sources told Wojnarowski that teams that have reached out to the Thunder about trading for Westbrook have been told he’s unavailable, and the five-time All-Star reportedly is eager to lead OKC in the upcoming season.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
