Russell Westbrook Photo: Laurent VU / SIPA
Russell Westbrook, the Los Angeles basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA), has unexpectedly accepted the “player option” or extended his contract with the club for next season by $ 47.1 million, ESPN reports insider Adrian Vodnarovsky.
Westbrook had two choices: to give up an impressive amount of money, become an unrestricted free agent this summer and listen to other clubs offer, or extend his contract with Los Angeles for next season for almost $ 50 million, which is an absurdly inadequate amount given Westbrook’s performance on the field. Next season he will be one of the biggest earners in the entire NBA.
Humanly, Westbrook’s decision is perfectly understandable, but from the Lakers’ point of view, it is a huge problem, given that his pay is very high below the salary ceiling. The Lakers have the option of terminating their contract with Westbrook, placing him on the vulnerable list and withdrawing a large sum of money from their total salary budget, but much of this pay would have to be reimbursed to club owner Gina Bass, which would be very financially disadvantageous in favor of the team.
ESPN Sources: Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook is planning to exercise his $47.1 million option to return to the franchise for the 2022-2023 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022
