Ex-Clipper Russell Westbrook's NBA Future Is in Jeopardy After Prolonged Free Agency

It has been five weeks since free agency started, and teams have largely finished their offseason business. There are still some free agents remaining, and there will be more signings between now and the start of the season, but a lot of the players who are still unsigned may not land a guaranteed deal before the 2026-27 campaign.

That list includes Russell Westbrook. After his season and a half with the Clippers, where he thrived in a sixth-man role for the first time in his career, Westbrook had a solid season with the Nuggets. He then ended up with the Sacramento Kings, where things didn't work out for him. Even though he had a good statistical season, the Kings were a disaster, and this has seemingly impacted Westbrook's market.

Russell Westbrook Is Running Out of Landing Spots

As things stand now, Westbrook is one of the highest-profile free agents remaining on the market, alongside former teammate James Harden. Harden is expected to re-sign with the Cavaliers any day now, but where Westbrook's next stop will be remains to be seen.

Many wondered whether the Miami Heat would pivot to Westbrook after they struck out in the LeBron James sweepstakes.

However, Heat insiders Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Ian Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel both reported that this was unlikely. They said that the Heat will likely go after better shooters and that it would be surprising for Erik Spoelstra to want to pair Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo with a non-shooting playmaker like Russ.

Another rumored landing spot has been the Houston Rockets. A Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook reunion and a return to Houston for Westbrook may seem appealing on paper, but there are serious fit issues there.

The Rockets have a non-shooting center in Alperen Sengun and one of the worst-shooting perimeter players in the NBA in Amen Thompson. Bringing Westbrook onto a team whose biggest weakness is shooting would be a highly questionable move.

There are currently 18 teams with a roster spot in the league: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Golden State, Indiana, Miami, Minnesota, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, and Washington.

It's difficult to see any of the surefire title contenders bringing Westbrook in due to fit concerns. He is famously not the most plug-and-play guard in the league. Among those teams, the Warriors, Bulls, Timberwolves, and Raptors stand out as potential landing spots. A return to the Nuggets wouldn't be a terrible idea for both sides, either.

The problem is, we have heard no buzz about any of these teams being interested in Westbrook. The 37-year-old former MVP is clearly not a priority. This isn't to say that he won't be signed, but he may have to wait a little longer to see what the future holds for him.

Westbrook isn't going to sign a two-way contract. He will not be on a non-guaranteed deal. He is probably too proud and too high-profile to take his talents overseas at this point in his career. If he can't land a guaranteed deal for next season, could he end up retiring like Chris Paul did last season?

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Westbrook still has something to give, and it would be fun to see him on a relevant NBA team for at least another season.

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