LAS VEGAS – Raise a glass, all, to the decade-long run of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a rise that began with a feisty first-round playoff loss to the Lakers, in 2010, and ends with a demoralizing defeat by Portland, in 2019, with a whole bunch of stuff in between. From James Harden to Serge Ibaka, Kevin Durant to, now, Russell Westbrook, the exodus from Oklahoma City is now complete, the era officially over.
On Thursday, Oklahoma City completed one of the speediest—if not stunning—tear downs in NBA history. Less than a week after agreeing to ship Paul George to Los Angeles for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a record haul of draft picks—and days after quietly moving Jerami Grant to Denver for another first-round pick—the Thunder ended Russell Westbrook’s 11-year run in Oklahoma, trading the 2016-17 MVP to Houston for Chris Paul, two protected first-round draft picks and two pick swaps, an NBA source confirmed to SI.