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Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today after experiencing stiffness last week, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young.
Obviously, knee surgery is never something an athlete wants to go through and especially not this close to the start of the regular season. According to Young, Westbrook will be re-evaluated in four weeks which can put him playing in the pre-season in jeopardy.
As pointed out, this is the fourth procedure done on the same knee which is never good to see for a player that relies on his explosiveness and ability to get to the rim.
It isn’t yet known whether he will miss any time in the regular season but it’s certainly looking like he won’t be able to get in a full training camp or preseason. If he does end up being cleared after four weeks he should be ready for the Thunder’s season opener.
If cleared after four weeks, Westbrook could be back for the opener against the Warriors on Oct. 16, but obviously there will be no rush for him to play.
The Thunder are undergoing a bit of a roster overhaul with the recent departure of Carmelo Anthony. The Thunder are coming off a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs despite another strong season by Westbrook. Carmelo is now in Houston but Paul George has resigned with the team for the long haul.
In the Carmelo Anthony trade, the Thunder were able to bring back Dennis Schroder from the Hawks which gives them some added firepower in the starting lineup or off the bench, depending on how the team decides to use him.
Schroder gives the Thunder another strong option at point guard and actually opens up a variety of different lineups to use. Schroder averaged close to 20 points-per-game as the Hawks starting point guard in the 2017-18 season but he likely won’t be starting for the Thunder unless Westbrook slides over to the shooting guard spot.
The Oklahoma City Thunder kick off their regular season October 16 against the defending champions Golden State Warriors. This game will be a good measuring stick for the Thunder as they see where they stack up in the even more loaded Western Conference with the Lakers back in contention.
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