Jazz's Honest Play-Time Offer to Russell Westbrook Revealed

It appears Russell Westbrook hasn’t ruled out the possibility of finishing the 2022-23 season with the Utah Jazz. He recently "expressed interest" in actually suiting up for Utah.

ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski dished the dirt on what conversations have taken place between Westbrook and the Jazz and what the timeline for a decision looks like.

“Russell Westbrook is going to take his time, at least, I think, through this week, through the start of the All-Star break," Wojnarowski said. “I think he’ll continue talking to the Jazz about what it might look like there. Getting a sense of what might be available to him in the buyout market if he does work out a deal with the Jazz to move on.”

Another kind of Russ / Jazz update from Woj today

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.#JazzNation #UtahJazz #TakeNote #NBA #RussellWestbrook #Team49 pic.twitter.com/foSvFIQIbT
— JazzNation (@JazzNationNews) February 14, 2023

Westbrook will have options, and it makes sense that he’ll take his time to figure out what’s the best fit. Money won’t be an issue in his deciding factor, with the former MVP getting paid the same regardless of which path he takes.

Does Westbrook want to put up a stat line that he was accustomed to before his arrival in Los Angeles, or does winning a championship take priority at this stage in his career?

Also, what would Westbrook’s role be in a Jazz uniform? Current point guard Collin Sexton is averaging 19.4 ppg since Mike Conley was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Would the Jazz brain trust be comfortable moving Sexton back to bench for a player that will most likely not be around in 2023-24?

"I think for Russell Westbrook, it's important for him, wherever he plays this year, that it's a role where he can feel like he's able to maximize," Wojnarowski said. "I think what the Jazz have told him is, 'We welcome you in here, but we're prioritizing our young core. We're going to focus on playing our young players, so we can't give you any sort of a guarantee on minutes or role.' And I know Russell appreciated their candor about that, so he's got some time here to evaluate it."

There are some pros in riding it out with Westbrook post-All-Star break. The Jazz currently have a real shot at a playoff berth, and adding Westbrook into the equation would be a boost to Utah’s perimeter defense, which has been an issue of late.

At the same time, moving Sexton to the sixth man would help Utah’s bench considering the recent loss of shooting guard Malik Beasley. But what about Talen Horten-Tucker?

The third-year pro needs minutes to develop, and adding Westbrook would cut into Horten-Tucker's court time. Since being added to the rotation, Horten-Tucker has averaged 14 ppg while dishing out seven assists per game.

There are a lot of moving parts to consider on both ends. Jazz fans can expect the Westbrook domino to fall at some point next week.

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