There was never any doubt when Russell Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets back in July that the feeling was going to be different inside the Oklahoma City locker room this season.
Westbrook was the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He spent the first eight years of his career building the franchise, first as a part of the Big Three, then doing it alongside Kevin Durant. The final four seasons he spent in OKC, he alone became the face of the Thunder.
At times, his relationship with Billy Donovan was called into question, but both Donovan and Westbrook always insisted that they were good, despite there being reports of Westbrook having “no interest in what Donovan has to say offensively” in November of 2018.
When asked by Brady Trantham of The Franchise OK if this year’s group better suits Donovan’s coaching philosophy, Dennis Schroder, unprompted, described a different vibe this season in the absence of Russell Westbrook.
“Russell’s my guy, but Russell is Russell Westbrook. He earns everything he’s done in the NBA. He’s a hell of a player. PG is the same. But I think this year with Chris Paul, he talks a lot as well. He talks with the coach, being in touch with him. I think it’s just a different vibe we have in this locker room.”
“This year, we’re on the same page and that’s credit to (Billy) Donovan putting us where we need to go, and Shai, Chris, myself, all the players. Gallinari, he’s a hell of a player, Steve-O, everybody’s had to sacrifice so that we’re the sixth seed in the west.”
More from Dennis Schroder today on Billy Donovan/last year to this year. So there's no discrepancy, the questions Schroder was asked are typed out word-for-word. H/T @BradyDoesSports on the second question: pic.twitter.com/qKTA4HJnRl
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) February 20, 2020
Schroder also said he thinks the Thunder could’ve gone deeper into the playoffs last season but acknowledged that “Portland had a hell of a series”.
The Thunder are poised to make the postseason again, sitting at 33-22 as they prepare to kick off the final third of the season. Oklahoma City is back in action on Friday night when they host the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m. CT.