The Denver Nuggets are preparing to acquire a fourth league MVP trophy. They’ll just need to dust this one off.
The Nuggets plan to sign Russell Westbrook as a free agent after the future Hall of Famer clears waivers, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post.
Westbrook picked up a $4 million player option in June to return to Los Angeles, where the Clippers began to seek out trade partners for the 2016-17 MVP. Mutual interest developed between the Nuggets and Westbrook, according to sources, and even Nikola Jokic endorsed the move.
The market was otherwise dry, allowing the Nuggets to wait for Westbrook’s situation with the Clippers to be resolved. On Thursday, he was moved via sign-and-trade to Utah, where he’s expected to agree to a contract buyout so he can sign with Denver, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nuggets have kept a roster spot open, anticipating that it would belong to Westbrook, according to sources.
The 35-year-old averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists last season, mostly off the bench. He started 11 regular-season games on a 51-win Clippers team that eventually lost to Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.
The Nuggets will be his sixth team in seven seasons after he spent the first decade of his accomplished career in Oklahoma City. He’s the all-time leader in triple-doubles with 199, and now he’ll likely be teaming up with a three-time MVP in Jokic who is chasing that historic mantle (130, fourth all-time).
What Westbrook hasn’t attained yet is a championship. He has played in 122 career playoff games, including four trips to the Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals appearance in 2012, when his Thunder lost to the Miami Heat.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) of the Denver Nuggets defends Russell Westbrook (0) of the LA Clippers during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 111-108 win at Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The Nuggets hope he can contribute to a second title in franchise history in order to win his first. As the league’s free agency moratorium came and went in early July, they still needed secondary ball-handling and play-making behind Jamal Murray to fill out the roster. Westbrook was the target. Reggie Jackson, who played backup point guard last season, was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a salary dump move in June, leaving the Nuggets with only Jalen Pickett behind Murray on the point guard depth chart.
Pickett was drafted 32nd overall in 2023 but spent most of his rookie season in the G League or at the end of Denver’s bench. He has struggled this month at his second Summer League for the Nuggets. Collin Gillespie, another point guard option last season who was on a two-way contract, signed with the Phoenix Suns this summer. He wouldn’t have been eligible to appear in the playoffs even if he had returned to Denver as a two-way player.
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The Nuggets also have a hole in the starting lineup, at shooting guard, after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a three-year deal with the Orlando Magic in free agency. General manager Calvin Booth has indicated Christian Braun is the candidate most likely to fill that opening next season, but Westbrook’s experience and pedigree should make him useful as a spot starter if needed.
More importantly, the addition of Westbrook completes Denver’s offseason attempt at retooling the second unit with a combination of youth and experience. Dario Saric agreed to a two-year deal earlier this month, supplying a new backup big for Jokic who can space the floor to help compensate for Westbrook’s lackluster perimeter numbers (he’s a 30.4% career 3-point shooter). The two veteran newcomers will be aided by a cast that includes Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther. Rookie DaRon Holmes II was also part of the equation until his season-ending Achilles injury at Summer League.
While he’s no longer in the prime of his career, Westbrook has still averaged 18.8 points and 8.4 assists per 36 minutes in the last two seasons since transitioning to a bench role. During that time, he has only started 24.8% of the games in which he’s played. The Nuggets last season ranked 22nd in the NBA in bench net rating and 25th in bench scoring.
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