Nuggets sign Russell Westbrook to two-year contract, according to report

DENVER — The long-anticipated addition of Russell Westbrook to the Denver Nuggets roster is … almost official.

The former MVP has signed a contract that will make him the Nuggets’ second free-agent signing of the summer, according to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The deal is for two years and $6.8 million, according to The Athletic, with the second year a player option.

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 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 veteran point guard has not played a single game for the team. He has played for four different franchises 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 with Houston, Washington, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers, he has remained a high-energy player who can create offense for himself and others.

It is likely he will 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 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.