Returning to Denver on Monday for the first time since departing the team as a free agent over the summer, Kings point guard Russell Westbrook had a big night, racking up 26 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in a 130-124 loss. Asked after the game about his time with the Nuggets, Westbrook said he thought it was “great” but that “other people” didn’t necessarily feel the same way (Twitter video link via DNVR Sports).
“The truth is that they didn’t want me back,” Westbrook said. “It ain’t up to me. God always has a plan. Be patient. Not up to me. They don’t want me, that’s OK. Somebody else do.”
Westbrook, who signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Denver during the 2024 offseason, played a significant role for the club, averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances (36 starts) during the regular season. He also contributed 11.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 13 playoff contests (24.1 MPG).
The former MVP was lauded by coaches and teammates in Denver for his energy, competitiveness, and leadership, but he didn’t score efficiently (.449/.323/.661 shooting) and his high-energy style results in some out-of-control plays and a high turnover rate, making him a somewhat polarizing player.
Although Westbrook held a $3.47MM player option for the 2025/26 season on his Nuggets deal, he opted to turn it down in favor of unrestricted free agency. He was on the market for nearly the entire offseason before signing a new veteran’s minimum deal with Sacramento last month. Asked about that option decision, the 36-year-old suggested Denver didn’t want him to exercise it.
“They told me not to,” he said. “I don’t go anywhere I’m not wanted. I don’t need to.”
As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post observes, the Nuggets underwent some significant organizational changes in the spring, hiring a new head coach and installing a new head of basketball operations. While those changes may have contributed to Westbrook’s exit – veteran center DeAndre Jordan also indicated last week that the team didn’t want to bring him back, Durando notes – new head coach David Adelman had nothing but kind words for the veteran guard prior to Monday’s game.
“He’s the most consistent energy guy I’ve ever been around,” Adelman said, per Durando. “… Huge part of why we won the first round last year against the Clippers. Huge part of some of the defensive things we could do against OKC (in the second round). So it’s really cool to see Russ get picked up by (Sacramento), and just to see the longevity and what he’s done in this unbelievable, magical career he’s had. So he should be in the NBA. It’s good to see him out there competing. Watching him on film reminded me of a lot of things — just the relentlessness of what he is.”
Russ has been playing well, the Kings are just overall bad though. No rim protector and Keegan won’t help that when he returns.
“Russell Westbrook had a big night in a loss” – literally his entire career. Ballhogging fills the stat sheet, but you end up ringless.
Yes Russ, no contending team wants you, you play a style that only makes you look good, and you never win. If anything Nuggets fans should be rejoicing the ringless one is gone, they might win another title now. The best move for Russ at this point in his career, if he still wants to keep playing professionally, is to go play somewhere overseas, like China.
If Russ had learned to at least know how to play off-ball he would have several rings by now, discuss:
Just so you’re aware Davey, because I know you’re new to watching the NBA, when Russell Westbrook gets a triple double his team wins the game 74% of the time.
So while you’re absolutely right that Russ is worried about himself on the floor, saying his stat padding leads to losing is just wrong. Using his role now to justify that statement is disingenuous and you’d know that if anyone besides Steph Curry mattered to you.
If you honestly watched him play and think his best fit is in China, then you are exactly who everyone who interacts with you thinks you are.
I’d flag my own comment for you if I could boss. God knows this will live for about 45 minutes lmao.
@wash: The other side of Davey’s coin is that while he may block you quickly, he’ll get banned just as quickly and you’ll be responding to Davey 3.0 in no time.
@Rct are you seriously talking to @washington__bonercats as if @washington_bonercats @washingtonbonercats and @washington___bonercats don’t exist? Umm….
You literally said “@wash” not his full name, because you know he has 10,000 accounts on here. Then you said I make too many accounts on here. I made this new one to reply to @aristotle who I could not on my old one due to a site bug. My other account is still active. I can log in and reply to you anytime from it. Cry more.
Yes Davey, I’m clearly making numerous accounts with the same exact name just to troll you (anonymously?) and not at all because I’m terrible with passwords and too impatient to deal with the password reset.
You’re a genius. Let me know if you have a reply that has to do with anything that was presented to you.
Classic Westbrick response with literally no self awareness.
Dude has made 345 million bucks playing a game, all while lacking self-awareness?
Interesting take.
Russ has a high interest in playing well, but almost no interest in winning. He just wants to play well enough to get a 1-yr deal with another team season to season.
When you sign him, you’re getting a guy who is gonna play hard, but do things that contribute to losing more than winning, but his “numbers” will be there in the process.
Numbers that he can say, “I did my part.”
Literally uncoachable.
Doug Christie was doomed when they signed him (Russ), and I think that was intentional by upper management.
He’s a favorite child of the organization and they didn’t want to necessarily fire him after his interim basis.
They brought in SP, who really doesn’t want him, but had to acquiesce to ownership as a condition to him getting the job himself.
What do you do? You set Christie up to fail.
Easiest way to do that?
Sign Westbrook.
– especially with DeRozan, LaVine, Monk, and Schröder on the roster.
Remember when it was said EVERYWHERE that just signing DeRozan was a horrible decision for SAC???
Then LaVine?
Then you add WESTBROOK to THAT????
That’s a round pizza, cut in triangles, in a square box – only worse.
That’s how they usually sell pizza.
Exactly lol he could’ve worded it like a square pizza cut into triangles in a round box to make it sound like a worse fit.
Thing is, you both got the message and you knew it was a good comment.
Your comments were a dead giveaway.
And, it’s ok.
More jv players haha
“That’s a round pizza, cut in triangles, in a square box – only worse.”
That’s a really bad comment bro.
If that’s what you highlighted out of that whole comment, you definitely didn’t reach your basketball goals.
This forum is your peak!
Dig that hole bud.
Well it might be a good comment with lots of insightful informations but you ended it with such a weird statement. I think that people mostly remember beginning and end of a story or sentence and when reading this they can be like “ok, I get it, he’s right…” and then “wait, what?”
Can’t even get their criticism right lol ….. love triangle pizza that comes in a box.
This is the highlight of my day
I had no problem with the opinion til the pizza part at the end lol
Honestly the internet peanut gallery sucks so much because you can write 99% something really interesting and on-point analysis then you make ONE throwaway comp/comment at the end and EVERYONE gloms onto that 1% of the post, which doesn’t really even have to do with the point of the comment anyway. Reply guys are the worst, only likes/dislikes are worse.
Davey, you have the reverse splits on that whole 99:1 thing.
Yeah man, all of the posters on here are openly and aggressively saying Moses Moody stinks and should be traded and me being the only Moody defender, as Kuminga and Moody both have an all-star ceiling to me, and even this year, look at this future all-star now…hmmm…almost like I know ball. Or something.
I don’t see Moody reaching that. He can be a rotation guy. Needs to improve his handle.
I like Kuminga a lot. And he might reach that. I just don’t see him on this team’s timeline. Nothing against him. But I see Warriors better NOW as a team. If they move him by Dec 15. You can improve team for now and next two yrs. With right trade. And be better loaded for a few runs at West.
Why does Moody need to improve his handle when he is literally replacing the Klay Thompson role? Klay, famously known for never dribbling lol
Aside from Bam or Giannis there isn’t really anyone out there who is feasibly going to GSW. I have no problem keeping everyone. But also if they want to make a trade, it better be for Giannis.
Clearly there’s Jokic’s voice is the only one that matters in Denver and it’s easy to see that Westbrook’s style of play is the complete opposite of his.
It’s funny to me that when guys who think the world of themselves are shown that no one else does
Yeah poor Russ.
It must be hilarious to think about when your alarm goes off every morning,
Westbrook has won more than 90% of players of his generation. No one player wins chips. When will all the haters learn that.
Westbrook deserves criticism for not adapting to teams after OKC. And for not working on his shot. Yet he is still one of most productive bench players in the game. Imo his ego gets in the way. He had a good opportunity in Denver.
Westbrook has zero rings dude. Westbrook hasnt legit won anything. He ONLY won MVP because the corrupt writers were told to not vote for Curry or KD even though they both clearly deserved that MVP as a co-MVP duo. How were GSW so good in the KD era? Literally Steph and KD. But neither were MVP candidates? Nope. All we heard was crybabies and bron stans saying “broke the league” and this was the payback.
Every once in a while I take a little break from commenting and just focus on understanding whats happening around the league. I really suggest you do the same Davey.
What does this have to do with anything I said?
I love talking the NBA as I see it. Feel free to mute me if you dislike my nearly always-correct takes that you cannot see the forest from the trees on.
We can’t help him lol. He isn’t capable of just appreciating the game. He has to find the negative. Which is practically everything not Warriors related.
Al – ring counting culture has slowly ruined discourse about players. Lots of these guys who barely watch ball outside of their favorite team when they play on ESPN don’t care about anything besides rings. Stats are not their forte.
Russ’ stint in LA did a lot of damage to his reputation because he was the main topic on every sports show during that time. Something these dolts hold as holy words.
Yes, rings matter, its why the players play the game. Ball hogging has been a huge issue in basketball since the beginning. It’s not winning ball because its 1 on 5 instead of 5 on 5. Sure you pack the stats sheet, but your teammates have no idea what you are doing and then you lose.
I cant believe you are a russ superfan. This is so funny. Incredible turn: one of the worst commenters on here who constantly gets banned loves westbrook. Lmao.
I get he didn’t help himself by not handing it well. But the hate is so cult like. It’s not about playing. Its just bandwagon hate lol.
I criticize someone I still try and see what he can do to be better. He’s had a HOF career. Plenty of great players didn’t win chips. These fools that live to trash players. Don’t even understand that MORE HOF players haven’t won. Than there are HOF players who have won. Winning is not the judge of greatness.
Denver not wanting him made sense. They look improved without him.
See: every single thing I said above.