We’re almost into September, and Russell Westbrook is still a free agent. Jake Fischer's latest reporting indicates that the only team showing interest is the Kings, but they’re working on some of their own cap maneuvering to add Russ without getting rid of Malik Monk’s salary.
The fact that it’s this late in the offseason, the only suitor is the Kings, and they’re still waiting on other transactions, should tell you everything you need to know about Westbrook’s market at the moment.
There’s a real chance that this drags out all the way into the season, and the future Hall of Famer doesn’t start the year on an NBA roster. He can obviously still play, but his style of play and skillset are so volatile and polarizing that the fit just doesn’t make sense for very many teams.
Nuggets better off without Westbrook
That would include the Nuggets. Despite Westbrook having a solid season in Denver and playing an important role on the team, he was simply too involved. Granted, they needed someone to step up, but for better or worse, there was just way too much Westbrook injected into almost every big game, often at the worst possible times.
Sometimes it worked out, and sometimes it didn’t. But when you’re trying to win a championship, that kind of risk isn’t worth taking. Denver has taken a great approach this summer, building up the roster with versatile, reliable depth.
Last year, the plan for the bench was essentially, give the ball to Russ, and let’s see what he can do tonight. This year, the bench will have up to seven reliable options on any given night. David Adelman can go big, he can go small, he can load up on defense, he can load up on shooting.
They’ll be able to slow teams down and bludgeon them inside, and they’ll be able to get up and down and wear teams out. Denver has gone from having one of the worst benches in the league to one of the best almost overnight, and fair or not, a lot of that is a reflection on Westbrook.
While his stats were good and by all accounts he was a good teammate, nobody in the NBA wants him, including the Nuggets, who have an open roster spot and a need at backup point guard. The more he sits out there unsigned, the more impressive it is that the Nuggets made it as far as they did last year, and the more teams should be scared of what they can be this year.