The long-anticipated addition of Russell Westbrook to the Denver Nuggets roster is finally official.
The former MVP signed a multi-year contract that will make him the Nuggets’ second free-agent signing of the summer, the team announced Friday afternoon. The veteran minimum deal is for two years and $6.8 million, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post, with the second year a player option.
“Happy to be here, excited. It’s going to be fun,” Westbrook said on a social media video posted by the Nuggets. “I can’t wait to see you guys out there. Let’s do it!”
Westbrook came off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, averaging 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists on 45.4% shooting from the field. Earlier this month, he was sent to the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal for Kris Dunn and other pieces, then waived.
It marked the second time Westbrook was traded to the Jazz, although the point guard has not played a single game for the franchise. The 15-year veteran has played for four different teams since being traded by Oklahoma City, which drafted him fourth overall in 2008, to Houston in the summer of 2019.
While his outside shooting (44.9% overall, 29.5% on 3s, 68.5% on FTs) remained below average over those five seasons split between Houston, Washington, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, he has remained a high-energy player who can create offense for himself and others.
The Nuggets’ pursuit of Westbrook was endorsed by superstar Nikola Jokic, The Post’s Bennett Durando reported.
He will likely be asked to come off the bench again in Denver, with backup point guard Reggie Jackson no longer on the roster and Christian Braun expected to be elevated into the starting lineup in place of the departed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Westbrook, 35, joins veteran big man Dario Saric as the Nuggets’ major offseason signings. First-round pick DaRon Holmes was also expected to compete for a role in the rotation, but the Dayton big man tore an Achilles tendon in the Nuggets’ first game at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He is now unlikely to suit up for Denver next season.
Bennett Durando contributed to this report.
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