The 3-2 Denver Nuggets will host the 2-4 Sacramento Kings on Monday night, hoping to get back on track after a tough loss to the Trail Blazers on Friday night. But this game should be interesting for a number of reasons, mostly relating to former players facing their old teams, most notably Russell Westbrook.
The Nuggets signed Russ to a veteran minimum deal last offseason and brought him in to run a severely lacking bench for 2024-25. Denver ended up needing Westbrook far more than anyone would have hoped or imagined, and he filled in admirably.
Westbrook had a solid season and proved he can still play at a high level. Sure, there were ups and downs, as there often are with Westbrook, but he absolutely did his job and more than lived up to his contract.
But in the offseason, the new front office very clearly wanted to go in a different direction. They made it clear to Russ that he wasn’t going to be part of the rotation, so he turned down his player option and became a free agent. He wallowed on the market for months before finally signing a new minimum deal with the Kings.
Westbrook already very involved in Sacramento
Although he joined a crowded veteran rotation just days before the season began, surprising no one at all, Russ has already carved out a large role with the Kings. In the past four games, Westbrook has played 27 minutes or more, attempting 12, 16, 9, and 14 field goals each night.
Wherever he goes, Russ will be Russ, and we’re already seeing him push his way to the front of the line for on-ball reps in Sac-Town. The Nuggets were ready to be done with that experience, and they’ve recast their bench with unselfish role players like Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Monday night marks the first matchup between Russ and the Nuggets since he parted. There should be nothing but love after a mutually beneficial year together, but surely, there will be a little bit of bad blood with the team not wanting him back.
Westbrook wears his heart on his sleeve and keeps a chip on his shoulder, so he’ll surely be out for revenge in his first game back in Ball Arena. Whether he can exact that revenge or not is another story entirely.
In other reunion news, this will be the first game for Jonas Valanciunas and Dario Saric against their former teams since being traded for each other in the summer. Saric has been sparsely used and mostly out of the rotation, as he was in Denver. But Big Val is making his presence felt off the Nuggets bench.