Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook may not re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.
Westbrook becomes an unrestricted free agent on June 30. Murray doesn’t expect the UCLA product to pick a team right away.
The Clippers can offer Westbrook 120 percent of his minimum because they will have non-Bird rights on him. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, Los Angeles hopes to re-sign Westbrook at a hometown discount ($3.8 million) for a year, but the future Hall of Famer may want more money than that since he put up really strong numbers in the 2023 playoffs.
The Clippers faced the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2023 postseason. Two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard only played in Games 1 and 2 and All-Star small forward Paul George missed the entire series, so Westbrook’s usage rate went up. The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 boards and 7.4 assists in the Suns series, but it wasn’t enough to help the Clippers win, as Phoenix won the series in five quick games.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
Westbrook began the 2022-23 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was traded to the Utah Jazz at the February trade deadline and waived by Utah. Russ joined the Clippers as a free agent after getting waived by the Jazz and put up 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 21 games with LAC.
Westbrook and George are close friends and Russ is from Los Angeles. Since the nine-time All-Star played well with the Clippers, the front office could be interested in bringing him back. However, the numbers have to work.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
The 34-year-old Westbrook has career averages of 22.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.4 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Lakers and Clippers. It will be fascinating to see where the two-time scoring champion is playing next season.
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