Russell Westbrook is still on the Sacramento Kings radar, according to Shams Charania.
He appeared on NBA Today on Friday and provided an update.
“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,” Shams said.
Watch the full clip below:
The Kings don’t currently have a strong option for the backup point guard spot despite having a guard logjam. (Ideally Nique Clifford gets those minutes because he should get as many minutes as possible.) Last season with the Denver Nuggets, Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Yes, the Kings need a backup point guard, no I don’t think Westbrook is a good fit.
The collective mood of TKH
Sigh.
If there’s anyone who still doesn’t believe that Perry is just a Vivek yes-man please explain this to me.
Less minutes for Nique and Keon…
They’re not “Stars” don’tcha know….
In Vivek-world, stars put butts in seats.
And all Vivek cares about is butts in seats.
Lmfao, that’s probably why we brought in Vince Carter and Zach Randolph that one year.
I do not want Westbrook on the King’s team. It does nothing to improve the structure or culture of the team. Let’s get real Perry and start making some trades. Not older veterans but younger up and coming prospects. Start with Sabonis. He would be a good fit for the Pistons. We’re get Jalen Duren who is a up and coming defensive rebounding and physical player to start at center. We get Ron Holland who has proven his worth during the summer league. We get Tobias Harris who yes is a veteran but for one year could help off the bench and has an expiring contract worth 26 mil. We should also get at least one if not two first round picks. This is a start.
Just my opinion after watching 40 years of this through four ownership groups…
Not a single thing will change until or unless the number of empty seats at Golden 1 start increasing dramatically.
If this team hovers around .500 and stays in the play-in hunt all season (which I think is incredibly unlikely, but for the sake of argument), then it’s likely the arena will be full (or almost full) of mostly casual fans every home game.
And as long as that’s happening, ZERO substantial changes will be made.
If anything, Kings fans love this team too much. Why? Because no owner in the current era is motivated to spend to put a quality product on the court if the arena is going to be sold out every night, regardless of how mediocre to bad the product on the floor is.
There was a time when many owners were actual fans of the sport, and wanted to put out a competitive product.
Today’s owners see it as either a profit center, or a tax write off. Hell, #FJF can’t even name any of the players on the team he owns!
This is the reality of today’s professional sports landscape.
At this point, I basically root for the uniforms I like, because I know that none of those teams (Kings/Raiders/A’s) will ever put a championship product on the field/court as long as their current owners are in place, simply because the bottom line is far more important than winning.
Sufficient empty seats are hard to get when you’re a one team sports town (I know, now the A’s are in town). People will fans enjoy going to a game now and then, even if it is to see stars of other teams. And that is despite the ticket prices that are in no way a proper reflection of the product on the floor.
The casual fans seem to be just happy that we have a team and don’t dive deep into the workings of this franchise.
The too loyal fans may be the main culprit (I am not really criticizing them, lohalty is a main characteristic of fandom), and I think the only way to mobilize them is to start a campaign against the shitshow that is Vivek and family.
I’ll just link to my comment on that from the game thread:
https://kingsherald.com/articles/kings-vs-trail-blazers-preseason-game-2-open-thread/#comment-243267
I pray every day that our team owner cant name any of the players on his own team.
Playoff appearances would begin right after that.
Alas, I lack a sufficient quantity of thumbs to give to this deserved comment.
It would make Pistons a favorite in the East . Good for both teams which is why it’s not likely to happen , sadly .
I suspect the new CBA has really but the death knell on trades for players with big money, while I think Sabonis is a quality NBA player at the money he is making how much would he move the needle for Detroit? And I’d wonder what Detroit would actually give the Kings for Sabonis
I don’t know what’s worse, the Kings wanting Westbrook or Westbrook wanting the Kings for a few extra million? Why doesn’t the dude just sit at home, stay ready, and answer when a contender needs his services?
Could it be that a contender doesn’t want his services?
Then why do the Kings want him?
Connect the dots.
Boy do I really agree with your comment. Why would the Kings want him? I just don’t see the fit.
Adam, you have got to remember that this season is about “changing the culture”, blah blah blah…damn, we fans are so screwed. What did we do to deserve this???
Establishing a culture can be a good thing. But you have to have the right group of young talent to make that a point of emhasis. For whom would be establsihing a culture? Clifford, Carter and Raynaud?
At the time it made sense for the Rockets to bring in Van Vleet and Brooks to help establish a culture for their young and promising core (they were both under 30 then, and in their prime, btw). For the Kings it makes absolutely zero sense with the team as currently constructed.
Also, if you need to bring in guys like Schroder and Westbrook to bring that culture, what does that say about your views on DDR, LaVine, Monk and Domas?
And one;
I never really understood the Westbrook hate. (I watched him closely when he was at Washington with Deni Avdija). The guy is a bit brash but always plays hard and with intensity, (as far as I know) is a stand-up citizen and is credited by many ex-teammates as someone who helped their career. His age has eroded his physical abilities and he is struggling to adjust, but he is working on it.
But, as stated above, getting him (and Schroder) for this team is senseless.
If only the Kings roster wasn’t so short at the guard spot then he’d be perfect
Just a thought if you think mid 30 something players that are unsigned at the end of training camp are going to improve your culture, maybe this might be time to give that some more thought
Your best players a good roaster and a good organizational structure drive culture. This team is sadly 0-3.
I respect Westbrooks desire and energy when he was on OKC but those days are long gone, and he still plays the same way and that’s not leads to winning basketball
Just sign him already its going to happen, we know its going to happen. Did we even have any kind of search for a GM or head coach?
No, Vivek handpicked his sock puppets, Perry and Doug.
And I know that people are defenive and supportive when it comes to Doug, and that is exactly one of the reasons Vivek picked him. The other being that Doug is a Vivek-yes man.
SAY WHAAAAT ?!?!
Signing Westbrook is strictly a Vivek move . Even Perry knows this makes zero sense !
Westbrook would only be signed because he’s a “big name” and Vivek wants to hang out with him to feel important.
Just completely pointless, and very doubtful the Kings would get out of the play-in with or without Westbrook. And good luck to Keegan Murray getting any shots this season.
CONTRARIAN CORNER:
This sounds crazy and I will be inflicting pain on myself after I post this but… Could it be that Russel Westbrook is the exact type of player that this soft, old, passionless team needs? The guy plays with more energy and passion than most in the league. Skills and athleticism have diminished with age but not the drive. Maybe, just maybe Russel Westbrook is the player to hold all the others accountable. Setting the “tone”?Establishing a non stop, hard nosed mentality/culture? You know, the one coach Doug keeps talking about while barely playing the one guy who embodies that.
This team is doomed.
99.9% here in The Kings Herald universe see this. 87% here in The Kings Herald universe also see that no change is happening any time soon and live in a cloud of dark sadness. That dark cloud is NOT going to begin dissipating this season until MAYBE the mid season trade deadline where we might get the intervention we need. Most likely, this dark cloud will hang around for another 2 years (at minimum). One year if we are lucky. Take shelter and prepare yourself and your family, two years from now is MAYBE the next time we will feel any sense of hope and excitement.
So… Russel Westbrook… Fu%k it
Wasn’t the signing of Dennis Schröder advertised by the front office and talking heads as “setting the tone and establishing a non stop hard nosed mentality?”
I do find it amusing that some of us here joked that after the Fox trade the Kings would go out and sign Schröder, while at the same time some thought just fill the PG with a stopgap like Westbrook on the cheap. Now there is potential that Perry may get both. There really is zero need for both of them when Saric and Eubanks are the current backup up bigs.
I think that Russ is getting victimized a bit for the actions of the organization. That is, I don’t think that the current roster is anything near what the consensus of the fan base wants, which is either a lot more real talent or a teardown & youth project.
However, within the context of what this (dis)organization has slapped together, Westbrook makes the roster better. No matter how much we want Keon and/or Clifford to be NBA point guards, they are not. No more so than Monk, who is also not a point guard. More square pegs, more round holes.
Russell Westbrook is a hall of fame player. And even at his advanced NBA age, his motor has still yet to take a night off. He was pretty damned good for Denver last year in his role off the bench. On a roster where your only real point guard struggles to crack the league’s top 25-30, a player of Westbrook’s caliber should be welcome. And who knows? Maybe Keon & Clifford learn a few tricks of the trade along the way.
The issue here is ownership, and that will continue to be the issue for the foreseeable future. But as it pertains to the point guard play for your 2025-26 Sacramento Kings, the team would be better off with Russell Westbrook.
Am I happy over the prospect of Schroder / Westbrook after years of being spoiled by De’Aaron Fox? Oh, fuck no. But the current roster and its goals – misguided though they may be – would be improved with addition of Westbrook.
And it would also call for the jumbo tub of popcorn. Watching this ownership group is like watching monkeys fly a plane. It is frightening and compelling to watch unfold…but you don’t want to be on board.
You are 100% correct. Russ will make the team better. There will be nights where he will take over and put on highlight reel. He may even provide a few extra wins, but there will also be nights where he bricks 8 threes in a row.
To your point, the current team will perform better, but in reality not be better for it. Russ is the perfect kind of guy if you want to take your 32 win team to a 36 win team. Time to crank on Tankathon and see who is available between picks 11-14.
What I still can’t wrap my head around, is why would Russ want to come to Sac, which could very well be his final year in the league. The dude already has more money than 95% of the league, but he doesn’t have a championship. Sac isn’t about to provide the latter. If it’s about an opportunity to play, then Vivek needs to take a long look in the mirror and ask whey the other 29 teams don’t want to give him minutes.
My guess is that:
And I agree wholly that signing Russ is the wrong answer for how the org. should be looking at this season.
This is where I am on this matter.
He will be one of the top talents on this squad
He is a first ballot HoF-er
He plays his damn ass off. Every second on the court.
As a fan, with seats for this season at Golden1, I would enjoy seeing Russell Westbrook play basketball. I appreciate high flying athleticism and grace. But give me intensity! I love watching a totally tuned in, fully focused, all out effort player.
Russell Westbrook is just such a phenom. He’s on the downslope of his career. His shot looks no better, maybe worse. His decision making – ditto (my guess is that this is related to the vagaries of age – of the mind writing checks the body can’t cash problem).
Is it a short term selfish view? Absotively.
A hot fudge sundae appetizer, if you will.
I admit it, I like my bouche amused.
If you think this Vivel Ranadive poop party of a franchise is going to start a thoughtful and clever strategic perspective- I have a bridge to sell you near the Barkley Center.
Love me some Westbrick. He might even help them win another game or two (apologies to the tank commanders), especially if Schröder goes Auf Weidershen for a week or two (or longer).
As for the Why? on the Russ side of the equation: I’ll refer to what we’ve heard about in the Kuminga rumblings: Someone is promising playing time to agents/players. Russell Westbrook wants to play. Someone has given him assurances that he will get playing time.
Just my guess, of course.
I appreciate Russell Westbrooks motor and drive, something that is his best and worst attribute. However if no other team apart from this sorry team has considered signing him that is telling. Its great that he still wants to play, but I have don’t want to watch is jumpers clang off the side of the backboard
lol, fill the house with all the dry wood before you burn it down
At least its something different than Kuminga watch. That show sucked.
Keegan to miss 4-6 weeks due to torn ligament in the thumb.
Badge Legend