Kings, Russell Westbrook have 'strong mutual interest'

“I’m told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings,” Charania said (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “And the Kings have a need for a reserve point guard. They were 29th in bench points, 29th in bench assists last season. Russell Westbrook helps with that, and he’s got relationships across that organization.

“Domantas Sabonis, he’s close with, played with him. He played with Dennis Schröder as well. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, they have L.A. ties as well. BJ Armstrong, the new assistant general manager there. He knows BJ Armstrong from the agency side, and he does have respect with Scott Perry, their new general manager, and Doug Christie, their new head coach.

“We’ll see if a deal gets done before the start of the season or during this upcoming year.”

According to Carmichael Dave of SactownSports.com (Twitter link), there’s about a 70 percent chance that Westbrook will sign with Sacramento at some point, assuming the two sides can figure out the financials.

The plugged-in radio host also hears Westbrook has a lucrative contract offer on the table to play in China, but the former NBA MVP likely wouldn’t go that route until after the All-Star break, which is in his hometown of Los Angeles.

The Kings currently only have 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts, plus Keon Ellis on a non-guaranteed deal and Terence Davis on a training camp pact.

Westbrook, 36, played a significant role for the Nuggets after signing with Denver as a free agent during the 2024 offseason. He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances (36 starts) during the regular season, with a .449/.323/.661 shooting line. He also contributed 11.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 13 playoff contests (24.1 MPG).