Slow Market Could Inch Russell Westbrook Closer to Playing for Jazz

The last we heard on the Russell Westbrook situation with the Utah Jazz, the former NBA MVP wanted to take his time mulling over what his next move might be. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski floated a timeline on Westbrook's decision point to be somewhere during or after the All-Star break.

We know the Jazz have offered Westbrook a chance to help the team compete down the stretch of this season. He could help Utah make a bonafide run at a playoff berth with Mike Conley no longer running the floor.

Collin Sexton has taken on that mantle since the trade deadline and with great results. However, we don't yet know the limits of what Westbrook could do in that role.

When it comes to the subject of a contract buyout, which would allow Westbrook the freedom to hit the free-agent market and sign with any NBA team that wanted him, The Atheltic's Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that there isn't currently a seat at the table, and thus, the nine-time All-Star could be sitting on his hands for a while if he opts to decline whatever offer Utah has on the table and pursues a buyout.

“When you look at teams around the league, there’s not a spot for Russell Westbrook, Charania said on the FanDuel TV show. "It’s a slow-moving market, and we’ll see if he'll be able to find a home”

“When you look at teams around the league, there’s not a spot for Russell Westbrook… It’s a slow moving market, and we’ll see if he'll be able to find a home”@ShamsCharania with the latest on Russell Westbrook finding a new team on #RunItBack pic.twitter.com/fpN5gLLmLn
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) February 15, 2023

Then there's what insight Wojnarowski provided on how the Jazz envision Westbrook's role, which doesn't sound all too sweet on the surface, but could give him some nice momentum heading into the next offseason.

"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," Wojarowski said.

How it all shakes out for the Jazz and Westbrook remains to be seen, but if the market for his services really is that cool, it'd be a big surprise if he didn't accept Utah's open hand and finish out what remains of the 2022-23 season with a modicum of momentum.

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