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Sam Presti was in the dark like everyone else.

The Oklahoma City Thunder general manager knows that Russell Westbrook plays at his own pace Black Lamar Jackson Jersey , and so these past few months required patience.

Would the reigning MVP sign the five-year, $205 million extension that had been sitting there for so long, quieting those years’ worth of rumors about how he was headed for his hometown of Los Angeles while sending a strong message to Paul George and Carmelo Anthony that they should stay too? Or would he keep his free agency options open, letting that Oct. 16 deadline come and go?

The answer came on Friday, when Westbrook finally put pen to paper on the largest contract in NBA history and this little-engine-that-could organization continued on with its impressive display of resiliency.

What a way to start their 10th season of existence.

Kevin Durant has been gone for less than 15 months, off to a Golden State Warriors team that looked destined for dynasty status the second he arrived. Yet here come the Thunder, back among the elite and fully recovered from a run that could easily have decimated the small-market franchise.

From the time they traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets in October 2012 to the day Durant left, there was an element of misfortune to the Thunder’s story. The Harden deal was largely money-driven, with Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett wanting to avoid the league’s repeater tax and no one knowing at the time that the forthcoming salary cap spikes would have eventually footed that bill.

There were all those ill-timed injuries that kept the Thunder from winning it all – the Pat Beverley incident in Game 2 of the 2013 first round, when Westbrook’s collision with the Houston Rockets point guard tore his meniscus and all but ended the top-seeded Thunder’s season; the Serge Ibaka calf injury in 2014, when the Thunder big man missed the last two games of a Western Conference Finals loss against the San Antonio Spurs; the Durant foot injury that limited him to 27 games and required season-ending surgery in late March 2015.

Nothing hurt worse than the 2015 West Finals loss that would forever change the league’s landscape, the Durant-Westbrook Thunder coughing up that 3-1 lead to the Warriors and opening the door for all of this. And then, when July 4 came and Durant was gone, they had a decision to make.

Be resigned to a lesser fate, or do what it took to retool with Westbrook? They chose the latter, and it was a sight to see for anyone who truly understands the rigors of this path. The process remained the same, but their luck finally started to change.

Aug. 4, 2016 (one month after Durant’s departure): Westbrook signed a three-year, $85 million extension, making it clear that he wasn’t about to follow his former teammate. The deal allowed him to become a free agent in 2018.

Nov. 1, 2016: Thunder center Steven Adams signed a four-year, $100 million deal that, at the time, ensured the Oklahoma City had at least two core pieces to build around.

July 6, 2017: Oklahoma City traded youngsters Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for George, a four-time All-Star who since told USA TODAY Sports – even before the latest Westbrook extension – that he could see Oklahoma City being “somewhere I can call home for years.”

Sept. 23, 2017: Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, came their way from the New York Knicks in exchange for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick. Anthony not only waived his no-trade clause to come, but had to forfeit a trade kicker worth approximately $8 million to make the deal work.

Even before the latest Westbrook deal, fans were showing their appreciation for Presti’s handiwork everywhere he went. At the coffee shop. On the street. They’d say thanks. He nods and throws the gratitude right back. They might just throw him a midseason parade at this point – not that he’d ever let them.

And while the next few months should tell us more about whether this group can mesh enough to maximize the massive potential, Westbrook’s decision to sign on for the long haul is the kind of thing the people there won’t forget no matter the outcome. Oklahoma City has its reputation as a stopover spot for its NBA players, the kind of place where stars might be sent but never stay. But Westbrook, against so many odds, remains.

And the Thunder, with big and bright days ahead, aren't in the dark anymore.

QUITO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's prosecutor-general filed charges Thursday against 18 people for criminal association, linked to the corruption ring run by Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

The charges were presented to Ecuador's highest court, the National Justice Court.

The list of those charges include Jorge Glas, the former vice-president, Glas' uncle, Ricardo Rivera, and the former comptroller-general, Carlos Polit, who is currently on the run from investigators.

Jose Conceicao Santos, the former Odebrecht director in Ecuador, confessed to investigators on Wednesday that his firm paid 32.1 million U.S. dollars in bribes in order to win the contracts for five infrastructure contracts.

Santos has also turned over to the prosecutor-general various recordings and videos of conversations he had with Polit and Rivera.

On August 29, the Ecuadorian court blocked Glas from leaving the country after linking him to the case.

Glas also appeared in court on Wednesday to provide his testimony.

Following information published by the U.S. Department of Justice last December, the full scale of Odebrecht's corruption across Latin America was laid bare.

The documents alleged that Odebrecht paid a total of 33.5 million U.S. dollars in bribes in Ecuador from 2007 to 2016.

Lanzhou-Chongqing railway to open to traffic on Sept. 29

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