The Sacramento Kings might end up bringing Russell Westbrook back next season, according to a new report.
Jake Fischer reports from The Stein Line that Sacramento’s interest in Westbrook and Victor Oladipo.
“League sources say that Sacramento covets a veteran point guard to mentor prized rookie Darius Acuff Jr. and is thus now weighing the prospect of bringing back Russell Westbrook … or bringing in Victor Oladipo to fill that role. The Kings were among the teams to attend Oladipo’s recent workout in Las Vegas during summer league.”
Westbrook, who turns 38 in November, has been remained unsigned this summer, much like how last summer played out. He averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals last season with the Kings. The 34-year-old Oladipo, who has been working toward an NBA comeback, has not played in the NBA since the 2022-23 season. In 2023, he tore his left patellar tendon.
Oladipo and Westbrook played together on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2016-17 season.
Last month, Oladipo, a two-time All Star, shared this on X.
I’m a free agent. I don’t have an agent right now just me and my family.
I know I have a lot left, and I genuinely love this game. I’d rather show you I’m ready than spend my time trying to explain why or flood you with analytics to prove it.
If you’re about winning, value…— Victor Oladipo (@VicOladipo) July 1, 2026
To all the people/fans, thank you for your love and support. Without you, there are no sports. Your belief, your energy, and your loyalty have meant more than words can express.
This journey is just as much yours as it is mine and my family’s. We appreciate you every step of the…— Victor Oladipo (@VicOladipo) July 2, 2026
The Kings currently don’t have a true backup point guard.
Vivek has gotta boost those season ticket sales somehow.
Perry: “Sir, we need to fill the last spot with a guard to backup Acuff, sir. I’m thinking about a young prospect we can get on the cheap and maybe develop.”
Vivek: “Any former all-stars out there?”
Perry: “Uh, sir, I’m not sure that’s a wise move if we are going through a rebuild.”
Vivek, “What about Victor Oladipo? I hear hear he’s gunning for a comeback. Now that’s an under the radar signing that will get us some good press!”
Perry: “Sir, he hasn’t played in the NBA in over 3 years, sir.”
Vivek: “That’s NBA 3.0 years! Oh…and lets offer Westbrook a player/assistant coaching role as well. We can make him head coach by spring and get some discussion time on the Pat McAfree show! Now that’s thinking outside the box!”
I am not in favor of bringing back either Westbrook or Olapido. I would assume Doug has assistants who can work with Acuff. I like the idea you put forward about Perry wanting a young point guard to develop behind Acuff. I still thing he can trade Monk and a second or 2 to the Bucks who would really like to have him. They drafted Burries IMO to eventually backup Rollins so that puts Jakuciones number 3 on the chart.Monk and a second or 2 for Caris Lavert and Jakuciones. Bucks need scorers especially on the bench. Monk is better than Lavert by far. Kasparas would be an excellent young talent to backup Acuff. Lavert is an expiring contract. Perry, see what you can do.
Of the two, I’d rather have Russ. We know Russ is a good mentor for the young guys based on comments from multiple guys last year, and young players at Russ’ previous stops. Russ has been a superstar at a level we can only hope Acuff reaches. The key to me is that all parties (Russ, coaching staff, and FO) need to be aligned that Russ will be coming off the bench behind Acuff even if Acuff has some initial growing pains. I don’t blame Russ for being annoying at playing behind Schroeder last year, but I would need to be completely confident that Russ will accept a bench role.
(Re-post from the previous thread)
Of the two, I’d rather tapdance barefoot in a room filled with scattered lego bricks…
Kings= dumb. Any vet PG will do as long as he’s not taking all the shoots etc- WB.
But this is par for the course for the dumpster fire. That is the kings.
they consistently do the wrong thing.
I prefer NOT to tempt Doug with any aging vet to supplant minutes not only for Acuff, but also for Nique and potentially Sharp.
I say just let Monk take those backup PG minutes so Nique can get minutes behind LaVine and spot minutes at the point. The Kings have plenty of ball handlers in Acuff, Monk, Nique, and Sharp. Just roll with it.
To boot, Kings have until the end of this month to stretch DDR’s deal. Maybe keep that 14th roster spot open for a few more weeks to see how things shake out in the league. There may be an opportunity to stretch DDR’s deal and make a trade out there the benefits the team more long term.
I can damn near guarantee one of Westbrook and/or Dipo will still be available come the first day of the season. Don’t rush it.
I agree that they shouldn’t rush into anything, and I don’t love either of these options, I just prefer Russ over Oladipo if it’s a choice between those two.
I’d disagree that there isn’t a need for a backup point guard. None of Monk, Nique or Sharp are going to have the reliability you want at point, even as the backups. We’ve seen first hand that Monk is nothing more than an in-case-of-emergency PG option. And putting Nique or Sharp in that role isn’t setting them up for success either.
All of that said, I think there are other options you could find who would provide basic backup point guard play (Seth Curry, for example, although he could probably land with a contender as a depth piece), but they wouldn’t have the name-recognition that seems to be driving these options the team is looking at.
With you on the name recognition thing. That’s always a factor with Vivek.
That being said, I don’t think a guy like Seth Curry is any more a PG than Monk. Just doing a quick perusal of available FA PGs and there really don’t seem to be any left.
In a perfect world the Kings move Monk to a team needing bench scoring and get a backup PG back as one of the pieces. Not only does it fill a need it also opens up minutes for Nique and Sharp.
As an example, Memphis has too many dudes under contract so maybe hit them up for a package around D’Angelo Russell and Isaiah Stewart for Monk. Hornets are in the same boat. Tre Mann is buried on their bench, Or even the Bulls for a package including Rob Dillingham and/or Tre Jones.
Like Tre Jones. Also like “Beef Stew”. Question Adamsite. Do you think Stew could start for the King’s power forward with Achuiwa as a backup. Would also bring Murray down to the 3 spot where IMO he should be?
If a trade somehow materialized for Stewart, I’d absolutely start him next to Sabonis as a rim protecting stretch big and slide Keegan to the 3. The Kings get bigger and more defensive with a move like that.
From all that, It’s gonna be interesting to see what Memphis does. They have far too many players under contract, don’t have a legit starting PG, and have a ton of big wings.
Yeah, Seth Curry.
“He’s going to be around for a couple years. He’s definitely going to have a few more years of someone…”
This is why Oladipo is the better choice. A guy on a rebuilt knee who hasn’t played in the Association in 3 years?
Not even Doug would be tempted to give him major minutes over Acuff, Nique and Sharp…
…I think.
Boy do I agree with what you just said. My trade above IMO makes sense if not I to would keep Monk. IMO he is more valuable then a lot of people think.
I strongly disagree. Westbrook does nothing to help the young guys on the floor because he takes the ball out of their hands and does whatever the fuck he wants.
he’s perhaps the worst possible mentor they could have on court. I don’t care about the locker room bullshit.
There’s a reason nobody else is signing him. No on Westbrook. No no no no.
It’s just a horrible idea. So the kings will probably do it. It’s pure idiocy. They don’t need a fucking mentor. And if they do get somebody who’s not a selfish ball player.
Good video on why no team really wants Westbrook.
Amen, totally agree. So when will he be signed then 😉
Why this front office can’t trade for a younger (than 30) vet PG is beyond me, OKC has no issues getting rid of Dort who isn’t on the best deal but they wanted to get below a tax threshold
Its bad enough that the organization is this bad but its worse when local media just gives them so much cover
This has nothing to do with either as a person. Just not the best choices for this team.
I always love reading Kings news with my coffee:
Hard NO, as a rostered player.
Fine, if its as a coach.
Why do people think that Westbrook would be a good coach?
Are those the same people who think that Christie is a good coach?
Wasn’t Westbrook previously on this team at some point in the past, and it didn’t really work out very well? Might have been a long time ago so maybe I can forgive Vivek for forgetting already but there should be some film or something from that rather disastrous year.
Some of you seem to be forgetting that it’s ALWAYS cast-off veteran season down on David Stern Way.
Cam Thomas…you are a King.
(I shouldn’t have put that into the universe)
The problem is, with all due respect, neither of these guys helps the team win more games. Without the incentive to tank, I don’t want either of them as more than the 12th man. VO filling the McBuckets role of garbage time only and practice fodder? Ok. Russ, again, doesn’t move the needle towards winning, just towards sometimes scoring and stat filling.
Maybe the Kings think this will help agent relationships (I doubt it will). Maybe the Kings really can’t fathom a team with a pure PG. I dunno. But it’s going to be interesting seeing what moves teams make when they look for actual winning basketball all the time. I think it’s pretty damning that DDR isn’t getting much attention. He doesn’t play winning team basketball. He’d be a great pick for the 3-3 league a bunch of the washed vets were doing for a while. But none of these guys are real contributors to winning games.
I guess the one positive I get from all of this is that the Kings are at least acknowledging that Monk, et. al., aren’t PG options. Maybe they’re still hoping they can sign/trade for Duren, but it’s been awfully quiet this off-season in Kingsland.
I would probably roll with Monk and just live with the outcome, but if you want to head down the veteran route…why not Jrue Holiday?
Blazers have a ton of guards and are thinking of buying him out. Hilariously, they are also linked to DDR. A trade for the two would have been great, but how about Lavine for Jrue plus filler and a pick. It’s an extra year of salary, but he’s actually decent. No one is signing up for the $80MM owed to Jrue right now, but why not a bad Kangz team??
If we could tank, sure, but LaVine is going to accidentally more games than Jure will.
I’m not sure if that’s an issue anymore. Bottom three? Yeah. But beyond that, everyone has the same odds until the double digits. AND it’s a lottery for 1-16 (with exceptions).
In the past, Monte (or Vivek) was in love with Jrue. Now you can grab him and get a late 1st or 2nd. Why not?
I remember last season many of us were discussing backup PG options when free agency started. One name that came up a lot was Cole Anthony. Fast forward a season, and Cole Anthony is now playing in Australia.
Yeah, he just signed there. He was in the league last season and I still would have preferred him on his vet minimum deal the Bucks gave him then what the Kings gave Dennis Schroder and Westbrook.
Have a question for you all. Why do we need to bring in an old player to play 15 minutes a game and mentor Darius Acuff? Don’t we have assistant coaches who were hired to work with players development in like how to play defense? If Doug and company can’t find a coach to do this then hire one. If not then as a last resort hire Westbrook as an assistant coach to do this. IMO I would rather try and get a younger point guard and coach both of them. One who would be a good fit as a backup but who could come in and start if need be. I just don’t see the Kings hiring an older player when they are trying to rebuild.
PS If you can’t find one IMO Monk surely can come in and be a backup for 15 minutes a game.
I’m guessing the thought process is that there is damn near a guarantee Acuff isn’t going to play 82 games at 35MPG+ for the season. He’s likely to miss games, have off nights, and need to sit during struggles. Therefore, there is an argument for a pure PG to be on the roster behind him.
Had the lottery rules not changed, then sure, just give those minutes to Monk or whoever is already on the roster. The fact that the bottom 3 teams may get screwed in the new lottery system is a real factor. I believe Perry knows this is likely a bottom 5 team so a few extra wins with guy like Westbrook might actually be better long term. It’s hedging your bets.
I don’t like it, but it is what it is.
This team will have a bottom 3 record. Kings, Nets, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Bucks are probably going to be the worst teams.
Out of those, I can see the Pelicans being better simply based on roster talent (health is another issue).
I could also see the Nets being better than most think. Randle and Porter Jr. will win them some games, and Jordi is a damn good coach.
Grizzlies are a wildcard. They could surprise teams this season.
Bucks are…I don’t even know what the Bucks are at this point.
That being said (written, whatever), The Kings are going to have to fight hard for every win this season to not be in the relegation zone. Any injury to Domas, Zach, or Keegan that keeps them out for several weeks and the season is done.
Listened to the radio this very morning and talk from the front office is that they think this roster could push for a play in spot.
Why can’t the front office look to sign free agents that are young, rather than looking to sign has beens
Whaddya know? No Kings moves are listed among the worst offseason moves in 2026! Small victories.
The NBA’s 7 worst offseason moves of 2026, ranked
Well to be fair we didn’t really make any moves besides waiving Demar.
Badge Legend