Clarifying some confusion on Westbrook’s contract

There has been a bit of confusion about Russell Westbrook’s new extension and whether or not he left money on the table. The confusion stemmed from the new Rose Rule that allows players a 30 percent maximum extension instead of 25 percent by meeting certain criteria including winning an MVP, being voted an All-Star starter twice or making two All-NBA teams.

But I’m told by a source with direct knowledge that Westbrook’s contract would’ve indeed been eligible for the Rose Rule bump if he made another All-NBA team this season, but instead settled for the standard max deal. So all the stuff about Westbrook taking the 25 percent max instead of the 30 percent is correct. In a way, as I wrote yesterday, Westbrook potentially left money on the table. Which could be extremely important to the future of the roster.

The source clarified that Kevin Durant’s retroactive Rose deal had no impact on Westbrook’s Rose eligibility, despite conflicting reports on that subject. Because of the Rose max, Durant will make roughly $3 million more per season and about $15 million more over the life of his five-year contract.

A five-year designated player max contract and the Rose extension are not synonymous things. They are separate. Westbrook was able to get a five-year deal because each team can extend a player for five years under the CBA. And since Durant was extended in the last CBA, Westbrook was eligible to be extended for five years in the new CBA, if that makes sense.