Russell Westbrook may finally find his next NBA home with the Sacramento Kings.
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Friday that there is “strong mutual interest” between the nine-time NBA All-Star and the Kings. Charania noted Sacramento’s need for a backup point guard, stating that they were 29th out of 30 teams in bench points and bench assists in 2024.
“Look, I'm told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings, 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. DeMata Sabonis, he's close with, played with him. He played with Dennis Schroeder as well. DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine, they have LA ties as well,” Charania explained.
“B.J. Armstrong, the new assistant general manager there, he knows B.J. 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.”
The 36-year-old point guard averaged 13.3 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 6.1 assists per game in his lone season with the Denver Nuggets. He spent parts of the season coming off the bench — averaging 27.9 minutes per game — and could potentially fill a role that Sacramento has been lacking.
Schröder is the only point guard on the Kings roster who averaged at least 20 minutes per game on an NBA roster during the 2024-25 season. He averaged 13.1 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, and 5.4 assists per game while splitting the year between the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Detroit Pistons.
Westbrook could fill a big hole for Sacramento while finally finding a home for his 18th NBA season.
The 2016-17 MVP has played for five teams since leaving Oklahoma City via a trade following the 2018-19 season. He has not spent more than two years at any one spot, playing for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Nuggets before declining his player option and hitting free agency after the 2024-25 season.
