Thunder’s rebuild will take some time
OKLAHOMA CITY — Yosef Maaroof wanted one more Russell Westbrook memory in Oklahoma City.
When he learned Thursday night that the Thunder were planning to send Westbrook to the Rockets for Chris Paul and draft picks, the 20yearold Tulsa resident planned to make the twohour drive to Oklahoma City with friends. They wanted to take videos and photos in front of the large images of Thunder players that adorn Chesapeake Energy Arena during the season, hoping Westbrook’s photo would still be up Friday morning.
It wasn’t, so Maaroof came up with a different tribute. In a video he posted on Twitter, he put on the Westbrook jerseys he has collected since 2012 , took them off one by one and laid them side by side in front of the arena. He wore 18 in the video, which has been viewed more than 85,000 times.
Maaroof said Westbrook has long been his favorite player. And the next addition to his collection will be a Rockets jersey.
With their emotional sparkplug gone, the Thunder, as we knew them, are no more. Westbrook was the last remaining player from the team that moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Kevin Durant, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Paul George and others, all gone. Now Westbrook.
He spent his entire 11year career with the Thunder, despite earlier chances to leave. With Westbrook, the Thunder won at least 45 games for 10 straight years and reached the Western Conference finals four times, including a run to the NBA Finals in 2012.
“It’s a lot of heartbreak,” Maaroof said as he recalled recent conversations with his friends. “Not to be dramatic, but it really feels like someone died. We’re all 20 years old, so we all grew up with Russ, grew up with this team, pretty much through middle school, high school, college now.”
The run in Oklahoma City wasn’t supposed to end yet, but George left first for the Clippers, opening the door for an earlierthanexpected reboot. Thunder forward Jerami Grant was traded before Westbrook, and now Oklahoma City has added multiple firstround picks for its rebuilding project. It will take time and head coach Billy Dono
“It’s a lot of heartbreak. Not to be dramatic, but it really feels like someone died.”
Yosef Maaroof, Thunder fan, on Russell Westbrook being traded
van will get plenty of chances to tinker with his lineup and give young players experience.
The Thunder haven’t been in this mode since the 200809 season, but Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said it is time to embrace it. He notes that the same general manager who brought the success — Sam Presti — is still running the show. And that offers a sliver of hope for aching Thunder fans.
“We’re getting a king’s ransom for that,” Holt said of the Westbrook trade. “He’s taking what would have been a nuclear winter at the end of their contracts and quite possibly jumping us into a new chapter a lot faster than we might have expected.”
Westbrook is one of the most accomplished current players without an NBA title. In the three seasons after Durant left, Westbrook’s Thunder did not make it past the first round of the playoffs, even with George. His spark ignited the Thunder, but he often was among the league leaders in technical fouls in recent years. He stubbornly has defended his tendency to shoot more 3pointers than his percentage indicates he should.
All was forgiven once the news broke. Thunder fans have spent the past several days reminiscing about Westbrook’s biggest moments — from the crazy scoop shot against the Lakers in the 2012 playoffs, to the 50point tripledouble and gamewinning 3pointer against Denver that clinched the NBA singleseason tripledouble record, to the 202020 game this past season against the Lakers.
Now, the fans are left with memories and hopes that the rebuild works out sooner than later. And, of course, they will have the memories he creates when he comes back with the Rockets.
Westbrook still will have his fans in Oklahoma City.
“I’m still going to be a Thunder fan, but I don’t plan on missing a Rockets game this season, either,” Maaroof said.