{"id":114346,"date":"2025-09-02T23:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T23:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/114346\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T23:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T23:59:07","slug":"prediction-emerges-on-russell-westbrooks-nba-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/114346\/","title":{"rendered":"Prediction Emerges on Russell Westbrook\u2019s NBA Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_s2zlx0zsw\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_ksj615\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Russell Westbrook\u2019s<\/a> next destination remains one of the biggest question marks of the NBA offseason in early September. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_civ3lgdqd\">As he became an unrestricted player back in July, Westbrook has reportedly garnered some level of attention from several teams across the league, but he hasn\u2019t quite found his fit just yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_rn4thhoyd\">Is it the money? Many assume a player at Westbrook\u2019s stage would land a veteran\u2019s minimum at this point of the year if he\u2019s taking on a role to come off the bench.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_9q94y112d\">Some recent rumblings suggested that Westbrook could be eyeing slightly more than the typical minimum contract. One NBA free agency prediction envisions a potential two-year contract for the former MVP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_dc8om41o7\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_ksj615\" href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25242484-predictions-nbas-top-10-free-agents-still-available\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bleacher Report\u2019s Eric Pincus<\/a> no longer sees the Denver Nuggets as a suitor for Westbrook. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_j85ix3uyy\">Nikola Jokic\u2019s squad made some notable moves, adding Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown to the mix. If there was a mutual interest between Westbrook and the Nuggets at this point, the chances of them having a contract in place would likely be high.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"Russell Westbroo\" title=\"Russell Westbroo\"\/><\/p>\n<p>May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) drives to the net against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) in the fourth quarter during game six of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images \/ Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_1pd8cvxq7\">Clearly, that\u2019s not the case. As a result, BR sees the Sacramento Kings as the most logical fit for Westbrook on a two-year deal, which includes a player option for that second season. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_b7n04118n\">\u201cThe Sacramento Kings stand out as his obvious next home, as they need a point guard to back up Dennis Schr\u00f6der,\u201d Pincus explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_4bqwj73td\">Last season, the Nuggets trotted out Westbrook for 75 games. He was a member of the starting five for 36 of those matchups. Throughout the year, Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. He made 45 percent of his field goals and averaged 32 percent from three.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_qzxb9zbgk\">The Kings took some big swings on prominent names last season, adding players like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine to the mix. They struggled throughout the year, finishing the season with a 40-42 record in a tough Western Conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_8spua33op\">Although the Kings had a shot at playoff contention, they ended up coming up short in the Play-In Tournament, failing to make the postseason for the second season in a row.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_4q8oz0bf0\">Sacramento invested a lot in the starting point guard position this offseason, striking a sign-and-trade to acquire Dennis Schroder from the Detroit Pistons. That contract will cost them $44 million over the next three seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_4i2fy5bim\">Westbrook won\u2019t command a ton in free agency, but he seems to be holding out for a little more than the standard one-season contract. <\/p>\n<p>More Fastbreak on SI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russell Westbrook\u2019s next destination remains one of the biggest question marks of the NBA offseason in early September.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-114346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}