November 3, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots a technical foul shot as Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) looks on during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in almost 20 years, Russell Westbrook isn't on an NBA team's roster during the preseason.

This development isn't necessarily super surprising, given Westbrook's penchant for volatility at this late stage of his professional basketball career, but it's still eye-opening. Westbrook proved effective (and resurgent) in a spot, reserve role with the Denver Nuggets last season. There's no real reason to believe the future Basketball Hall of Famer couldn't replicate that production in a healthy team situation and culture this year.

Funnily enough, Westbrook's former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate, Kevin Durant, says he would love to see it happen with ... the current Houston Rockets. Wait, what? I assure you that it is not a misprint.

Here's more Durant on a possible Westbrook Houston addition from an episode of Up & Adams:

Anyone familiar with Durant's and Westbrook's falling out after the former bolted for the Golden State Warriors in 2016 knows how weird comments like this sound on their face. After the fact, Durant and Westbrook famously had a lot of animosity for each other for a little while. They're back on good terms now, but they still had one of the most contentious — and extremely public — breakups in NBA history.

Durant saying he wants to play with Westbrook again should be read as an overt gesture of goodwill. That's because a possible reunion between the two would be one of the ultimate "come full circle" moments in the modern NBA. Durant and Westbrook were flat-out awesome together in Oklahoma City. Between a prolific jumpshooter like Durant and an explosive rim-attacking guard like Westbrook, the duo had a palpable, magnetic chemistry and won a lot of games as the two young talismans of a franchise establishing itself in the Sooner State.

Their breakup is truly one of the NBA's great "what ifs?" because we should've seen even more magic from both on the same team.

Given how old Durant and Westbrook are now, I think it's safe to say they wouldn't nearly be as elite a duo during the 2025-2026 season. To be honest, I'm not sure Westbrook would even get all that many minutes alongside a still-great Durant as a likely reserve guard. Even still, we should all happily welcome seeing Durant and Westbrook wearing the same jersey again. It's been way too long.

It's personal stories like this that make the basketball world go round.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kevin Durant would be thrilled to reunite with Russell Westbrook

Reporting by Robert Zeglinski, For The Win / For The Win

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