Russell Westbrook, Kings have mutual interest – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Will Russell Westbrook sign with the Kings? That certainly appears to be an option as the 2025-26 NBA season inches closer.

There is notable 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 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 has got relationships across that organization. Domantas Sabonis, he’s close with, played with him.He played with Dennis Schröder as well.

“DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, they have LA ties as well. B.J> Armstong, 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 season or during the upcoming year.”

Westbrook’s decorated resume speals for itself, with an NBA MVP and two scoring titles to his name. While the 37-year-old guard is a ways removed from his prime, Westbrook appears to still have plenty left in the tank 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 last campaign, shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from deep.

The Kings signed Schröder to a three-year contract that likely slots him into Sacramento’s starting point guard role, but the addition of Westbrook could prove to be a vital step in insulating the team’s backcourt for the marathon that is the NBA season.

Sacramento opens the regular season on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 22. Whether or not Westbrook will be in a Kings jersey by then remains to be seen, but it certainly is something to keep an eye on going forward.

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