Russell Westbrook is done, and that takes one possible Nuggets solution off the table.
Denver still had a backup point guard question hanging over its head for Jamal Murray. The team did bring in Tyus Jones, a steady hand whose calling card is keeping the ball secure, but he doesn’t bring the same burst, size, or edge that Westbrook once did in Denver. Now, with Westbrook officially announcing his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons, any thought of a reunion is gone.
“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.
You had to be there. And now it’s over. pic.twitter.com/6YoOW8WyIV”
Westbrook spent one of those 18 seasons with the Nuggets, his 17th year in the league. In 2024-25, he gave Denver 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game while appearing in 75 games and finishing seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
And beyond the numbers, he left a mark. His Game 7 dunk and technical against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round stood out as one of Ball Arena’s wildest moments. That kind of energy is what some around Denver hoped could still be added back into the mix.
Instead, the Nuggets are left searching for more depth behind Murray.
Jones is a useful player in one very specific way: he controls the ball and avoids mistakes. That mattered to Denver this offseason, and it was part of why he was added.
But his playoff run against the Minnesota Timberwolves showed the limits of what he brings. In Games 5 and 6, he played 13 and 12 minutes, and over those two games he averaged just 3.5 points and 2.5 assists.
He didn’t cough it up, but that’s the job description. The problem is that Denver needs more than safe possession. It needs someone who can create when the offense stalls, and Westbrook would have offered that in a way Jones simply doesn’t.
So the search continues. The Nuggets still need another point guard behind Murray, because if Murray goes down, Jones doesn’t look like the kind of answer Westbrook might have been.
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Financial limits have made the search even trickier, which is why the list of realistic names has stayed fairly narrow. Tyus Jones and Ben Simmons are among the fallback options being discussed, but each comes with its own uncertainty, and the Nuggets still need a dependable shot creator who can take pressure off their stars without forcing the team to compromise everywhere else. [Read more 🡒]