Russell Westbrook is about as polarizing a figure as an NBA player can be. He’s been through the highs and lows as a pro, from winning the league’s MVP award with the Thunder to being traded and bought out on multiple occasions.
He’s clearly well beyond his prime at this point, but Westbrook can still put up some impressive stats and has produced in some capacity wherever he’s been given an opportunity. Yet there are still many detractors and many people who don’t think that Russ is a winning player.
His style and usage have been under fire even when he was at the peak of his powers. Can a team truly be successful with one player monopolizing the offense to such an extent? It’s a question that has followed Russ wherever he’s been and has never been definitely answered.
He never won a ring, but he’s been to a finals (way back when) and made several deep playoff runs in his career. But as he’s aged and his role has become smaller and smaller, it’s become hard for him to carve out a meaningful role on good teams. That will be the biggest challenge for him and the Nuggets this season.
Denver doesn’t have a lot of depth and they are especially thin at the point guard position and with ballhandling. They also are lacking in reliable veterans and bench players in particular who can contribute minutes. When they won it all, they had guys like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green coming off the bench and making huge plays in the biggest moments.
If there is a current player on the roster who can contribute in those ways, it’s going to have to be Westbrook. The Nuggets don’t need Russ to be the MVP version of himself, they just need him to be his version of Bruce Brown. And that’s something he should be able to do.
Nuggets need Westbrook to buy into his role
Barring some unfortunate circumstances, one would have to think that at least one of Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray will be on the floor. So that means Westbrook will almost never be the primary offensive option on the floor, even if he’s the one bringing the ball up.
He can get the offense started and ignite some pace into the team for sure. He’s a great rebounder and should be able to get the Nuggets out and running in transition. He’s also great at getting to the rim, attacking, and getting to the free-throw line. These are all areas where the Nuggets struggle and he can make a major difference.
But what they don’t need him to do is dominate the ball and shoot jump shots. He can be a great facilitator and an instrumental quarterback for this team, helping to create opportunities and set the table for the stars and ace shooters like Michael Porter Jr. and strong finishers like Aaron Gordon.
If Westbrook plays that role and is able to share the ball and play well without it, this has the potential to be a match made in heaven. He’s a great cutter and screener and should be involved in plenty of actions. But spotting up - even in the corner - is a waste and will lead to negative value shots.
The Nuggets need to be smart about this and there’s no reason they shouldn’t. Both sides should have plenty of motivation to make this work as well. For the Nuggets, they have no other options. They need their bench to come through for them and Russ is a big part of that. And for Russ, he’s simply running out of chances in the NBA.
Hopefully, the two sides can see what’s at stake here and do what’s needed to make this work. If that’s the case and there’s full buy-in, this could be a very happy marriage.