Russell Westbrook’s next stop remains unclear, and there’s a real chance the former MVP opens the regular season without a team.
That’s a sharp turn for a player who gave the Sacramento Kings far more than a veteran minimum deal should have bought last season. Westbrook logged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 33.8 percent from 3-point range across 64 games, making himself useful in all the ways that still matter for a veteran guard.
The problem now is the market. On Sunday, NBA, NFL and NCAA reporter Evan Sidery said Westbrook isn’t drawing much interest in free agency and could be unsigned when the season begins. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s lingered on the board late, but it does underline how cold things have gotten for a nine-time All-Star who has played for seven different franchises over the past nine seasons.
Sacramento would make sense as a possible fallback, especially after both Westbrook and people around the team expressed interest in running it back. But the Kings’ cap situation appears to leave them only enough room to offer the same minimum contract again, which makes a reunion feel unlikely.
The Miami Heat are another team that keeps coming up, and have been tied to Westbrook for multiple years. Still, a recent report could complicate that fit. Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson said a source close to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has warned the team to be cautious about Westbrook as a teammate, with an anonymous NBA source describing him as "difficult to coach."
That kind of label doesn’t line up with what Westbrook heard from the Kings. Doug Christie was openly supportive of him during the season, pushing back on the chatter and praising his approach.
"You see media and all these different things about Russ, for me none of that is true. People say a lot of different things.
He is truly passionate," Christie said back in November. "Basketball is a game of mistakes we all make them.
Give me a guy who leans on putting his foot on the gas. He gives you everything that he has and that is what you want."
Westbrook also earned strong words from 17-year veteran Nicolas Batum in late March, when Batum called him "one of the best - if not the best - teammates I've had in my career."
"When you play against him, he won't be your friend. He doesn't want to be your friend.
But as a teammate, he's the best,” Batum said. “ The best.
That's exactly why I loved playing with him. Because as soon as you step on the court with him, he plays at 100,000% every night."
The days of the thunderous finishes and nonstop highlight reels from Westbrook’s prime may be behind him, but the 37-year-old still found ways to impact games and pile up numbers. He’s adjusted, stayed productive and kept himself in the conversation.
It’s hard to believe this is the end for a future Hall of Famer. The more likely question is where the next chapter begins.
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Kings Rebuild Just Left Two Veteran Names In Very Different Spots
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Russell Westbrooks path is less settled, and Sacramentos decision not to bring him back leaves his next step hanging in the air. The Kings are moving on as part of the rebuild, but Westbrooks future now depends on how teams value what he still offers and whether the market lines up with what he is looking for. [Read more 🡒]
These 3 Kings Role Players Could Decide Everything Next Season
With DeMar DeRozan waived and Russell Westbrook gone in free agency, Sacramento is heading into a different kind of season, one built less on star power than on how well the supporting cast holds together around Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and rookie Darius Acuff Jr. The Kings have enough talent at the top to stay interesting, but the real question is whether the pieces around them can steady the rotation and give the offense some much-needed balance.
Malik Monk, De'Andre Hunter and Maxime Raynaud are the names that could swing that answer. Monk is in line for a bigger responsibility after an uneven year, Hunter brings another layer of wing help, and Raynaud has already shown enough to suggest he can be part of the long-term solution in the frontcourt. For a team trying to reset without taking a step backward, those role players may end up deciding whether Sacramento merely survives the transition or finds a cleaner path forward. [Read more 🡒]