Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook won’t exercise his $3.47MM player option for the 2025/26 season, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Declining that option will put Westbrook on track to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He would have the opportunity at that time to either re-sign with Denver or join a new team.
Westbrook, 36, played a significant role for the Nuggets after signing with the team as a free agent during the 2024 offseason. He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances (36 starts) during the regular season, with a .449/.323/.661 shooting line. He also contributed 11.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 13 playoff contests (24.1 MPG).
A former MVP and a nine-time All-Star, Westbrook is a polarizing player for a future Hall of Famer. He was lauded by coaches and teammates in Denver this past season for his energy, competitiveness, and leadership, and remains an excellent play-maker and an elite rebounder at his position. However, he’s also an inefficient scorer whose high-energy style often results in out-of-control plays and a high turnover rate.
Despite his flaws, Westbrook has been a great value on minimum-salary contracts in recent years after earning the maximum for much of his playing career. Since being bought out by the Jazz in 2023, he has opted for situations with the Clippers and Nuggets where he can play a major role on a team with championship aspirations. If money were a priority, Westbrook could likely have done better than the veteran’s minimum on the open market over the last couple seasons.
His decision to decline his option doesn’t come as a major surprise, since his $3,468,960 option was based on a 5% raise on this past season’s minimum salary. With the salary cap expected to rise by 10%, Westbrook’s new minimum projects to be $3,634,153, so even if he wants to remain with the Nuggets, opting out to sign a new contract makes sense.
It’s also worth noting that if Westbrook signs a one-year minimum-salary deal with Denver or another team, his cap hit for 2025/26 would be just $2,296,274. If he signs another one-plus-one contract that includes a second-year option, his cap charge would be equivalent to his actual salary.