The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to sign Russell Westbrook to a contract extension this summer following the departure of Kevin Durant.
Westbrook is being pressed to decide his future in 2016 instead of 2017 but he reportedly does not want to be traded this offseason.
"Three weeks ago, Kevin Durant’s sitting there at dinner, telling him “Hey, I’m coming back, man. Don’t worry about it.” And now, Russell Westbrook has been kind of thrown into this in having to decide his future a summer earlier than expected," said Royce Young.
Westbrook can go back into free agency in 2018 by signing an extension with a player option.
"In some ways, (Westbrook) feels personally betrayed," added Young about the departure of Durant.
"Kevin Durant, more so than even that, was telling people, “Hey, yeah, I mean I’m coming back.” Like I said in there, a week before Kevin Durant sat down in the Hamptons, he was in Oklahoma City ready to make an offer on a multi-million-dollar house. So, the guy was pretty serious about coming back, and then things turned rather quickly for him to leave. And there’s no doubt the organization has felt a little bit burned by this."
If Westbrook doesn't sign an extension, Young expects the Thunder to strongly consider trading him before the start of the season.
Update: Royce Young later published a clarification of his comments from the podcast.