Russell Westbrook: Oklahoma City Thunder Will Regret Giving Star PG Max Contract

Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook signed a five-year, $80 million max contract on Thursday, according to Yahoo! Sports, and this is a poor move for the future of the franchise.

Westbrook is a top-tier NBA player, but he is not worth a max contract—not yet anyway. He has not proven himself in the playoffs and has yet to show he can coexist with star teammate Kevin Durant.

Let's dissect this Westbrook contract and look at why it's a bad move for the Thunder.

Will OKC Be Able to Sign Other Young Stars to New Contracts?

The Thunder are now paying Durant and Westbrook max contracts, which means the team is at risk for losing young stars James Harden and Serge Ibaka when they become free agents soon.

Harden and Ibaka can become unrestricted free agents after the 2013-14 NBA season, and both are important parts of the franchise's success.

Harden is a fabulous sixth man and Ibaka is an elite shot-blocker. If each young player continues to develop at their current rate, both will be in line for big paydays in a few years, and the Thunder may not be able to afford both now that they are paying two max contracts.

In addition to Durant and Westbrook's large contracts, the Thunder are also paying center Kendrick Perkins just under $10 million through the 2014-15 season.

Signing Westbrook to a huge contract has limited the Thunder's financial flexibility when it comes to keeping their young players for the future.

Is Westbrook a Good Fit in OKC?

Westbrook is a tremendous player and is an elite NBA point guard, but he doesn't fit on a team that needs a true floor general running the offense.

He is a shoot-first point guard who is better suited as a shooting guard. His shot selection is often poor and he doesn't get his teammates involved enough in the offense.

Star point guard Rajon Rondo got a five-year, $55 million contract a few years ago from the Boston Celtics, and he is a better pure point guard than Westbrook. Someone like Rondo who plays All-NBA first-team defense, rebounds well and is a great passer would be the perfect fit with the Thunder.

You can't tell me Westbrook is worth $25 million more than Rondo over five years. Westbrook can score, which is key for OKC since him and Durant are the only reliable scorers on the team. With that said, Harden could easily average at least 15 points per game in a starting role.

Thunder backup point guard Eric Maynor is the only true point guard on the team, but unfortunately he has been lost for the season with an ACL tear.

Can Durant and Westbrook win a title together?

I don't think Westbrook's relationship with Kevin Durant is a problem, and his on-court argument with Durant earlier this season was way overblown.

However, regarding the Thunder's basketball performance, it doesn't make sense to have your two best scorers be a point guard and a small forward. Very few championship teams have had their point guard be the highest or second-leading scorer on the team.

How many teams have won an NBA Championship since 1990 with their point guard as the team's leading scorer? The answer is one—Isiah Thomas led the 1990 Detroit Pistons in scoring, and no title winning team since has been led in scoring by their point guard.

While a few teams have won a title with their point guard as the team's second-leading scorer, teams with high-scoring point guards rarely win championships.

Westbrook wants to be the guy, he wants to close games and this is a problem. Durant is the team's best closer, but I fear that Westbrook will continue to take chances to close away from Durant.

In this week's win at Boston, Westbrook closed the game for OKC by hitting several three-pointers in the final minutes. This was a concerning sight for the Thunder because now Westbrook will want to close more and take more big shots late in games, which is what Durant should be doing.

Westbrook is a fantastic player and will be a star for a long time, but he isn't a good fit on the Thunder and his contract could potentially prevent the team from signing other young players to new deals.

This is a poor move that could have severe consequences for the Thunder franchise in the coming years.

Nicholas Goss is an OKC Thunder and NBA Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report.

Follow @NicholasGoss35