Russell Westbrook, Kings have a common interest: NBC Sports Bay Area and California
Will Russell Westbrook sign with the Kings? This certainly appears to be an option as the 2025-26 NBA season approaches.
There is considerable mutual interest between Sacramento and the nine-time All-Star, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday on “NBA Today.”
“I’m told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings,” Charania said. “The Kings need a backup point guard. They were 29th in bench points, 29th in bench assists last season. Russell Westbrook helps with that and has relationships throughout the organization. Domantas Sabonis, who he is close to, played with him. He also played with Dennis Schröder.
“DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, they also have ties to LA. BJ > Armstong, the new assistant general manager there. He knows BJ Armstrong from the agency side and has respect for Scott Perry, their new general manager and Doug Christie, their new coach. We’ll see if a deal gets done before the season or during next year.”
Westbrook’s decorated resume shines on its own, with an NBA MVP and two scoring titles to his name. While the 37-year-old guard is far from his prime, Westbrook appears to have plenty left in store after serving as a vital cog in the Denver Nuggets’ rotation during the 2024-25 NBA season.
Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in 75 appearances for Denver in his final season, shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from deep.
The Kings signed Schröder to a three-year contract that will likely slot him into Sacramento’s starting point guard role, but the addition of Westbrook could prove to be a key step in insulating the team’s backcourt for the marathon that is the NBA season.
Sacramento will open the regular season on the road against the Phoenix Suns on October 22. Whether or not Westbrook will be wearing a Kings jersey by then remains to be seen, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on in the future.
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