Russell Westbrook is not promising when he will return to the Oklahoma City Thunder lineup, but he is sure that he will come back as an improved player even after knee surgery.

“I'm going to come back and be better,” Westbrook said.

“I tried taking it one day at a time and not (worry about) the timetable. Just take it one day at a time and try to find a way to strengthen myself and make sure I'm ready to go when it's time.”

Westbrook has not yet been cleared to resume full basketball activities, and neither he nor team officials are providing a timetable for when that final obstacle will be overcome.

“We expect him to take part in parts of camp and work his way through different parts until he's ultimately cleared for unrestricted activity,” Sam Presti said. “But it's all going to be contingent upon how his body reacts to the additional load that he'll be carrying.”