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Russell Westbrook, Thunder limitations will be tested without Kevin Durant
If obstruction breeds creativity, then Russell Westbrook's upcoming season promises to be one of the most inventive individual performances the NBA has ever seen. Oklahoma City's reworked roster is marked by its limitations—namely, the loss of one of the NBA's most versatile forwards and committed floor spacers. Everything the Thunder do will change without Kevin Durant. Trading away Thunder staple Serge Ibaka, too, will ensure that Westbrook and friends encounter an entirely different on-court geometry from what they might be accustomed to.
Do not underestimate Durant's pull on opposing defenses. Westbrook has and will continue to put up monster numbers in Durant's absence by virtue of flexing a historic usage rate, but the style of coverage Oklahoma City will face changes dramatically once a quick, savvy, score-from-anywhere seven-footer no longer needs to be accounted for. In previous seasons, opponents would have to rework their defensive game plans to account for the downhill charge of Westbrook's driving game. They still will. But what gave those strategic decisions their painful tradeoffs was the idea that Durant loomed, waiting on the wings or curling up and around a screen at an inopportune time. There is a mental tax in knowing that Durant could be activated at a moment's notice, one that has since been relieved. What remains is one of the league's most furious attackers, albeit one whose sharp, incisive drives will be dulled just slightly by the changing state around him.
Grades: Thunder extend Russell Westbrook in franchise-saving move
How Westbrook responds to the changes in coverage and spacing makes for one of this season's biggest questions. There is no question that Westbrook sacrificed in playing alongside another superstar; that much was evident in his unbridled game whenever Durant would be sidelined by injury. Westbrook can (and often seems to want to) do more—but how much responsibility can one player reasonably take? Already the Thunder guard was prone to jacking up ill-advised jumpers out of audacity or frustration. Playing without Durant could take those attempts to an extreme; Westbrook will only be more entitled to operate as he sees fit without another star to counterbalance, while the frustrations of playing on a team with few capable long-range shooters will tempt his quick trigger.
Oklahoma City has characteristically been one of the highest-turnover teams in the league independent of pace. That was with Durant around to balance creative responsibilities, carry certain lineups, run small-ball, and pull the defense out of the paint enough to create lanes for drives and cuts. That was with Ibaka around to tug at positioning of one opposing big by spotting up on the perimeter, lengthening the distance necessary for them to rotate over on a Westbrook drive. In the new Thunder paradigm, Westbrook will become well acquainted with the wall—a line of defenders, all edging in from the perimeter, determined to bar him from the basket. Westbrook can still find his way through, but the added difficulty of running through the wall on every possessions will take a physical toll and make in-the-air improvisation all the more untenable.
The unlikely assist that helped deliver Kevin Durant to the Warriors
, and dump-off passes to the open man. Westbrook and the Thunder will instead make a harder living.
SI's Best Photos of Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant and Thaddeus Young
2006 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Game
Chase Budinger, John Wooden and Kevin Durant
2006 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Game
Kevin Durant
2006 Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge
Kevin Durant, Cartier Martin and Lance Harris
2007 — Texas vs. Kansas State
Kevin Durant
2007 SI cover
Kevin Durant and Shane Battier
2007 State Farm USA Basketball Challenge
Kevin Durant
2007 — Seattle SuperSonics vs. Denver Nuggets
Kevin Durant and Eduardo Najera
2007 — Seattle SuperSonics vs. Denver Nuggets
Kevin Durant
2007 — Seattle SuperSonics vs. Phoenix Suns
Kevin Durant with mom Wanda
2007 — Seattle SuperSonics vs. Phoenix Suns
Kevin Durant
2008 SI cover
Kevin Durant and LeBron James
2008 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant
2009 T-Mobile NBA Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam
Kevin Durant
2009 photo shoot
Kevin Durant
2010 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Kevin Durant
2010 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 4 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant
2010 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 4 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant
2010 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 5 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant and LeBron James
2010 preseason — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Kevin Durant, Thabo Sefolosha and Nenad Krstic
2010 SI cover
Kevin Durant
2011 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant
2011 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant
2011 preseason — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks
Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony
2012 NBA All-Star Game
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
2012 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks
Kevin Durant
2012 Western Conference Finals, Game 6 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
Kevin Durant
2012 NBA Finals, Game 2 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Kevin Durant and LeBron James
2012 NBA Finals, Game 2 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Kevin Durant
2012 SI cover
Kevin Durant and LeBron James
2012 London Olympic Games Preview
Kevin Durant and LeBron James
2012 London Olympic Games
Kevin Durant
2013 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant
2013 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Kevin Durant
2013 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Utah Jazz
Kevin Durant
2013 SI cover
Kevin Durant
2013 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 2 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose
2013 NBA Summer Workout
Kevin Durant
2013 NBA Summer Workout
Kevin Durant and Kevin Love
2013 NBA Summer Workout
Kevin Durant
2014 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 1 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant
2014 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 4 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant
2014 Western Conference Playoffs First Round, Game 7 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant
2014 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin
2014 SI cover
Kevin Durant
2014 Western Conference Finals, Game 6 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
Kevin Durant
2014 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Von Miller and Kevin Durant
Super Bowl 50
Kevin Durant
Super Bowl 50
Kevin Durant
2016 Western Conference Finals, Game 5 — Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant
2016 SI cover
Kevin Durant
2016 photo shoot
Kevin Durant
2016 Rio Olympic Games
Kevin Durant
2016 Rio Olympic Games
Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan and Kyle Lowry
2016 Rio Olympic Games
its defensive flexibility. Much is obviously lost without them and what's left is challenged. The juxtaposition of Westbrook's threat and the clutter of non-spacers around him will force the Thunder to prove, over and over, that they can strap together enough outside shooting to win.
The occasional corner three will not be enough. Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Enes Kanter, Ersan Ilyasova, Joffrey Lauvergne, and possibly rookies Domantas Sabonis and Alex Abrines will need to shoot well enough and consistently enough to make opponents rethink their game plan. They'll need to present enough of a threat as to distract teams that instinctively fear what Westbrook can do with a head of steam. Considering the terrors the Thunder's superstar guard can otherwise inflict, they have their work cut out for them.
Rob Mahoney is an NBA writer dedicated to the minutiae of the game of basketball, its overarching themes and everything in between. He joined the Sports Illustrated staff in 2012.