{"id":815875,"date":"2026-07-22T05:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/815875\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T05:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:16:17","slug":"polarizing-former-los-angeles-lakers-star-is-still-a-free-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/815875\/","title":{"rendered":"Polarizing Former Los Angeles Lakers Star Is Still A Free Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 21: A detailed view of a Los Angeles Lakers logo on the court before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on October 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luke Hales\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Russell Westbrook<\/a> is coming off a season where he appeared in 64 games for the Sacramento Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Westbrook did not get signed until right before the season, he had a very productive year.<\/p>\n

The former UCLA guard averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 42.7% from the field and 33.8% from three-point range.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GettyRussell Westbrook #18 of the Sacramento Kings stands on the court during their game against the Utah Jazz<\/a> at Golden 1 Center on October 24, 2025 in Sacramento, California.<\/p>\n

Over the offseason, Westbrook became a free agent who is available to sign with any team in the league.<\/p>\n

As of July 21, the future Hall of Famer still remains available<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking At Westbrook\u2019s Tenure With Lakers\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GettyRussell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> reacts against the Orlando Magic<\/a> during the first quarter at Amway Center on December 27, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

Westbrook is one of the best guards in NBA<\/a> history.<\/p>\n

That said, his run with the Lakers (2021-23) did not go as planned<\/p>\n

Despite joining a roster that featured LeBron James<\/a> and Anthony Davis<\/a>, the Lakers were among the worst teams in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GettyRussell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> at Wells Fargo Center on December 09, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

In 2021-22 (Westbrook\u2019s only full season with the Lakers), he averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 44.4% from the field and 29.8% from three-point range in 78 games.<\/p>\n

The Lakers missed the 2022 NBA playoffs after finishing as the 11th seed in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GettyRussell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the game against the Indiana Pacers<\/a> at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on February 02, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana.<\/p>\n

Westbrook then got traded during the middle of the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n

After moving off Westbrook, the Lakers reached the 2023 Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

Looking At Westbrook\u2019s Other Stops\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

GettyRussell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> celebrates in the final seconds of th 100-95 win against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 13, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana.<\/p>\n

Westbrook was the 4th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

He had a legendary 11-year run with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the start of his career.<\/p>\n

In addition to reaching the 2012 NBA Finals, Westbrook won the 2017 MVP.<\/p>\n

Following Oklahoma City, the nine-time All-Star had stops with the Houston Rockets<\/a>, Washington Wizards<\/a>, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers<\/a>, Denver Nuggets<\/a> and Sacramento Kings over 18 total seasons.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tBen Stinar<\/a> Ben Stinar has been covering the NBA for over seven years.\u00a0
\n
\nHe has written for OnSI, Forbes, Amico Hoops, The Big Lead and had a podcast with former All-Star Jameer Nelson. More about Ben Stinar<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 21: A detailed view of a Los Angeles Lakers logo on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-815875","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\/815875","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=815875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}