NBA: After Westbrook’s new operation: How long does the knee last?

On Wednesday it became known that Russell Westbrook had to undergo surgery on his right knee. It’s not the first time the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar’s knee has caused problems. What does the procedure mean for Westbrook, OKC and Dennis Schröder?

The summer of Oklahoma City Thunder can by and large be described as a complete success. First and foremost, Paul George’s contract extension, closely followed by Melo-Trade, with General Manager Sam Presti Dennis Schröder of the Atlanta Hawks looseiste. Also the signature of Nerlens Noel under a low-risk deal (2 years/3.7 million dollars) is at least interesting.

An off season full of good news? That sounds too good to be true – and it obviously is. The Thunder themselves got into the euphoria of the fans with a shocker late Wednesday afternoon: Russell Westbrook had surgery!

In an official press release, the team announced that their superstar has undergone arthroscopy of her right knee. This decision was made in consultation with Westbrook and his agent after RW0 was diagnosed with knee inflammation last weekend.

Royce Young of ESPN reports that the operation was a preventive intervention to prevent any major damage. Young said the team was not worried that Westbrook’s problems would drag on into the season.

Just over a week ago, videos circulating on the Internet showed Westbrook jumping vividly through the hall during a pick-up game. The Thunder fans will not see something like this for at least the next four weeks. Subsequently, Westbrook’s knee will be re-evaluated.

This is not the first time that the 29-year-old has had problems on his right knee. His medical record goes back to 2013. At that time, the Point Guard suffered a torn meniscus in a collision with Patrick Beverley. Within just one year he had to go under the knife three times – and returned from the injury in impressive shape.

After all, Westbrook has had no further complaints with the knee concerned since then, or at least none of them have been made public. However, knee problems of all kinds – especially those that require multiple operations – are no small thing for a player who turns 30 in November.

The fact that Westbrook’s play is based enormously on his athleticism does not necessarily make the circumstances any better. With an average of 19.2 drives per game last season, Westbrook attacked the basket by far the most, while his jumper, especially from a distance, remained shaky (only 29.8 percent from downtown).

There is no doubt that sooner or later athletics will disappear. If additional knee complaints persist, Westbrook’s contract, which will earn the Thunder Star about 205 million dollars over the next five years, could at worst become a real problem for the franchise.

In the near future, however, the impact of the new knee operation should be limited for the time being. Those in charge in OKC assume that Westbrook will pick up exactly where he left off last season in a cured state.

However, when exactly soot will be seen on the floor again is still in the stars. He will definitely miss the preseason, whether he will be fit against the Golden State Warriors at the start of the season on October 17, remains to be seen. It’s quite possible that Westbrook will be missing from his team in the first matches of the regular season.

For Dennis Schröder this would mean that he has to jump into the breach as a starter. With George, Steven Adams, Jerami Grant and the same Schröder, the Thundern have some potent players in the squad who can win one or two races without Westbrook.

The German averaged 19.4 points and 6.2 assists per game last season. Considering that he is surrounded by a much better team in Oklahoma City than in Atlanta, it would not come as a surprise if Schröder would also have these or even better statistics as a starter in the Thunder jersey.

However, it is undisputed that in the long run the success of the Thunder depends primarily on the performance of Westbrook. Without their superstar in top form, a deep playoff run will be difficult.

So in Oklahoma City, all they can do is hope that they are right with their own prognosis.