Should the Denver Nuggets want Russell Westbrook to be a team leader?

One glaring hole on the Nuggets entering this offseason was a lack of veteran players beyond their stars. Most successful teams have some older vets on the bench who can help out with leadership and show some of the younger players how to be professional.

When the Nuggets won it all they had Bruce Brown and Jeff Green filling that void, but those two are long gone. Then they lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Justin Holiday, and Reggie Jackson. That made it so the whole team was basically Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and kids.

The Nuggets making a big bet on veteran bench players

Whether the talent pans out or not, the veteran/leadership void was apparent. So with that partly in mind, the team used their final roster spots to bring back DeAndre Jordan and sign Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric. 

Jordan has little left in the tank as a player, but he’s been a great leader and locker-room presence for this team for years. Saric has been in the league for years and is a solid vet, but hasn’t really been known as a leader. Westbrook is the interesting one to watch here.

Westbrook has the status of an all-time legend, he’s made many All-NBA teams, won an MVP Award, and been a fixture at the All-Star game for most of his career. Russ has been a leader and the heartbeat of teams on many occasions.

Can Westbrook mentor the Nuggets' young players?

But over the past few years, as Westbrook’s play on the court has started to decline, his role within teams has become a bit awkward. He has the pedigree of a star, but that hasn’t been the case for a while. He hasn’t proven the ability to take a back seat and adopt more of a mentorship role, but that’s what the Nuggets need.

Can Russ defer to the stars while taking the young bench players under his wing? There is no clear leader of the second unit and that’s a position that Westbrook could own. In theory, if Russ wants to adapt, he could be the perfect player and personality for this position.

But, the Nuggets aren’t exactly the first team to employ this theory and see it blow up in their face in practice. The team has made a big bet on Westbrook and they are hoping he has mastered and is ready to become the veteran leader that they desperately need.