The Denver Nuggets are exploring a potential trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for star guard Russell Westbrook, per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. Westbrook’s teammates Paul George and James Harden have garnered most of the attention during NBA free agency, but the veteran point guard could also be on the move.
“Russell Westbrook opted into his $4 million for this 2024-25 season, and now the Clippers are working to find a trade for Westbrook, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Fischer detailed on June 30, 2024. “The Nuggets have already considered avenues to add Westbrook, sources said.”
Westbrook is a nine-time NBA All-Star and won the MVP award after averaging a triple-double in the 2016-17 season. The guard’s days as a superstar may be over, but Westbrook can still be a potential contributor on a contender.
Potential Nuggets Trade Target Russell Westbrook Is on a Team-Friendly $7.8 Million Contract
Westbrook averaged 11.1 points, 5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 68 appearances for the Clippers last season. The guard is on a team-friendly two-year, $7.8 million contract.
Westbrook opted into the final season of his deal rather than hitting NBA free agency. The former All-Star has a $4 million cap hit for 2024-25. This is well below the five-year, $206 million contract Westbrook once signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Clippers Guard Russell Westbrook Is Interested in Joining the Nuggets: Report
After his homecoming with both the Clippers and Los Angeles Clippers, Westbrook appears open to another move. The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that Westbrook is interested in playing for the Nuggets.
“League sources have indicated Westbrook has interest in playing in Denver,” Jones noted in a June 30 message on X.
The Nuggets Are ‘Poised to Lose’ Starting SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Insider
The news comes as the team is in legitimate danger of losing starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. NBA writer Marc Stein reported that “Denver is poised to lose Caldwell-Pope.” The NBA insider noted that the Philadelphia 76ers are attempting to pair Caldwell-Pope and Paul George together.
“League sources say that the ever-ambitious 76ers, meanwhile, have explored the feasibility (and presumed salary-cap gymnastics it would require) of maneuvering to try to come away with both George and Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency,” Stein explained in a June 30 article titled, “What we’re hearing as NBA free agency is poised to (officially) start.”
“There has been a growing expectation all week (as explained in this piece) that Denver is poised to lose Caldwell-Pope … perhaps even without compensation.”
Denver Considered a Potential Blockbuster Trade for Paul George, Says Insider
Denver considered another trade with the Clippers for George. Ultimately, George opted out of his deal and hit free agency preventing this sort of trade.
“The Nuggets’ optionality pivoting from the likely loss of Caldwell-Pope connects to all the above. Denver was also a team that weighed how to sneak into the possible opt-in-trade sweepstakes for George, league sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports,” Fischer wrote in a June 30 story called “How Paul George remains the key to the free agent market.”
“Denver is currently prepared to lose the veteran two-way wing, sources said, who was an integral fifth starter for the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA title. Caldwell-Pope is said to have strong interest from both Philadelphia and Orlando, where both teams could give Caldwell-Pope upward of two years and $50 million, according to league personnel.”
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