The NBA offseason has mostly settled, but Russell Westbrook still hangs out there as one of the bigger unanswered questions. At 38 next season, he’s not the headline act of August - yet he remains a real piece for teams that need a veteran point guard, and the possibility of a 19th season is still very much alive.
Westbrook showed last season that he can still swing games in the right role. Starting for the Kings, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game in Sacramento.
That came on a Kings team that finished 22-60, but Westbrook was one of the few steady presences in the building. Sacramento also added Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh pick in the NBA draft, and at 19 years old, the rookie is viewed as the franchise’s guard of the future.
That’s why the Kings are considering another year with Westbrook - or even Victor Oladipo, who has not played an NBA game since 2023 - to help mentor the Arkansas product, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.
If Westbrook does come back, there are a handful of places that make sense. The cleanest fit might still be Sacramento.
The Kings have the room, they don’t have a true point guard beyond Acuff, and they know exactly what Westbrook brought them last season. The team is not trying to win right away, with Acuff’s growth and possibly getting Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis off the books sitting near the top of the agenda.
Even in a rebuild, though, you need adults in the room. Westbrook filled that role well, and if Summer League was any indication, Acuff will need time to get comfortable.
At the veteran minimum, Westbrook would be the kind of bargain that makes sense for a team in Sacramento’s position.
There’s also the contender angle, and Miami stands out there. After trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Heat need help in the backcourt, especially with depth and another organizer.
Antetokounmpo and Davion Mitchell would handle most of the ball, but Miami could use another facilitator after Pat Riley moved Kasparas Jakučionis in the Giannis deal. The Heat also lost Tyler Herro in that trade and saw Norman Powell leave for the Bulls in free agency, so shooting is now a major issue.
Westbrook won’t solve that part of the problem, but he would give Miami another playmaker off the bench for its new duo of Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. In a loaded Eastern Conference, that kind of veteran-minimum addition matters.
Detroit is in a different spot, but the fit still makes sense. The Pistons have a much deeper roster than Miami, yet they could still use another ballhandler to ease the load on Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham just led Detroit to 60 wins and the No. 1 seed in the East, and the Pistons came within a Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers in the second round of reaching the Eastern Conference finals. They drafted Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie at No. 17 as a secondary scorer, but there’s no guarantee he gives them much right away as a rookie.
A proven veteran guard off the bench would give J.B. Bickerstaff someone dependable while Detroit tries to stay near the top of a stronger conference and push even further.
Washington belongs in the conversation too. The Wizards have a young core built around Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and the newest No. 1 pick in AJ Dybantsa, and they’re trying to move past a five-year playoff drought.
They also gave Trae Young a four-year, $212.8 million deal after acquiring him before last season’s trade deadline, making him the clear long-term lead guard. But Young missed most of last season with multiple injuries, so the Wizards could use a low-cost veteran to keep things moving if he misses more time.
Bub Carrington will still get on-ball chances, but Westbrook as a third guard would bring experience to a roster mixing young talent and veteran contracts, including Anthony Davis’s deal still on the books for now. Washington also had some interest in a reunion with Westbrook, according to The Stein Line in late June.
Westbrook’s one season in Washington came in 2020-21, when he averaged a triple-double and helped lead the franchise to its last playoff appearance. If he wants another run with a contender, that option is there. If not, there are still teams that could use exactly what he brings: pace, production and a veteran voice that keeps everything from drifting.
In Other News...
Kings Just Made Their Long Term Roster Priorities Clear
The Kings seem to have drawn a fairly clear line around their young core as the front office weighs any future roster changes. Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud and Darius Acuff Jr. are all viewed as players Sacramento is unlikely to put on the market, a sign the team is leaning toward patience with the group it believes can shape the next phase of the roster.
For Murray, the hold-up is about seeing more offensive growth before the organization even entertains bigger decisions. Raynaud is already being viewed as a long-term answer at center, while Acuff Jr. has given the Kings enough confidence to project him as a future franchise point guard. If Sacramento does make a move, the emphasis appears to be on veterans, not the younger players the franchise is trying to build around. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Know These Draft Regrets Still Hurt Today
Even by the standards of a franchise that has lived through plenty of draft-day second guessing, the Kings have a catalog of what-ifs that still hangs over the teams recent history. Sacramento had the kind of premium picks that can alter a rebuild, only to watch a long list of future stars come off the board to other teams while the Kings moved in different directions.
The names alone tell the story: Jalen Brunson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, and the Luka Doncic-Trae Young decision all linger as reminders of how thin the margin can be in the draft. The pain is not just in who got away, but in how those choices shaped the franchises path, leaving Sacramento to keep measuring present progress against the consequences of those missed chances. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Interest In Jonathan Kuminga Just Hit A Serious Roadblock
Jonathan Kumingas market has started to separate into clear tiers, and the Kings are sitting in the lower one. Sacramento has shown interest in the restricted free agent forward, but only at the veterans minimum, a level that tells you more about where the team is than where Kuminga sees himself. Around the league, the Lakers have reportedly made the most aggressive push with a sign-and-trade framework worth about $45 million, while Cleveland has already pivoted toward Peyton Watson as another option.
For Sacramento, the bigger issue is that Kuminga is not looking for a one-year prove-it deal at that salary. That leaves the Kings in a familiar spot in free agency, trying to compete for a young player with upside without stepping into the kind of financial commitment that would change their roster plans. Unless that stance changes, the gap between what Sacramento wants to offer and what Kuminga is willing to consider is likely to keep this chase from going anywhere. [Read more 🡒]