Russell Westbrook, Kings Have Mutual Interest: Report

However you feel about Westbrook, it’s hard to deny what he’s accomplished in the league. Westbrook is a former MVP, averaged a triple-double four times, has led the league in assists three times, and has led the league in scoring twice. The 36-year-old is a surefire Hall of Famer when he’s done playing, but he showed he still had a bit left in the tank last season. 

Westbrook would bring a ton of much-needed intensity to a Kings team that looked like they were stuck in neutral for much of the season. Westbrook isn’t the most efficient scorer at this point in his career and never really was, but he is an elite passer and excellent on the boards for a guard. 

Another plus to Westbrook is that he’s much bigger and stronger than most of Sacramento’s other options at the point, which will make it a lot easier to play him with someone like Malik Monk, Schroder, or Devin Carter. 

Unless you’re pretty new to watching basketball, you’ve probably heard some criticisms of Westbrook as a player and teammate. While a lot of the locker room noise might be overblown, the critiques of his game are largely fair. As mentioned before, Westbrook isn’t an efficient scorer and does have a tendency to force some shots. He also isn’t going to be a low turnover player and will make some head-scratching plays due to the speed at which he plays. 

While Westbrook definitely had some good moments in Denver last season, the team was much better with him off the floor. The part I struggle with most is that this is another move that ages an already older roster that didn’t make it out of the Play-In Tournament last season. Westbrook will be 37 in November, and it’s impossible to argue that taking reps away from guys like Keon Ellis, Carter, or Nique Clifford is good for the future of the team. 

On a positive note, Westbrook and Nikola Jokic did build some solid chemistry last season, which does bode well for pairing him with Domantas Sabonis. Domas is far from Jokic, but he does look at the game similarly and will be able to take advantage of one of Westbrook’s best skills. 

Westbrook is a great cutter and was on the same wavelength with Jokic very often, which led to a lot of easy buckets for both of them in the two-man game. Something that Sacramento really did not do well last season was move without the ball, and even though Westbrook does dribble a lot, he knows how to move once he gives the ball up. Westbrook also shot 67% at the rim last season, which makes him just as dangerous, if not more, when he gives the ball up. 

Barring some miraculous trade, the Kings aren’t going to be near the top of the Western Conference next season, which makes a move to grab Westbrook (or lack thereof) not as big of a deal as it might be otherwise. Westbrook gives pretty much everything he has each time he steps on the court, which is something the team can learn from, if nothing else. The hope is that signing Westbrook won’t stunt the development of other young guards on the roster, but Westbrook would be far from the only roadblock when it comes to minutes. 

Given the current situation of the team, it’s hard to get too upset about the Kings adding another veteran on the tail end of his career, and easier to look at how a guy like Westbrook can help rather than hurt the development of the younger guys. While this isn't super exciting for fans looking to see more of Sacramento’s youth, signing Westbrook for a season won’t make or break this year for the Kings. If all else fails, Westbrook would at least make the team a little more interesting and give Sacramento another much-needed ballhandler.