Russell Westbrook is officially betting on himself.
The former MVP guard Westbrook has decided to decline his player option for next season, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported Friday. The move paves the way for Westbrook to test unrestricted free agency this summer.
Westbrook, now 36, had an option worth $3.5 million to return to the Denver Nuggets next season. That would have represented a very modest increase over the $3.3 million that Westbrook made with Denver this season.
The nine-time All-Star Westbrook is indeed likely to command more on the open market this offseason though. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game this season and also shot 32.3 percent from deep (which was tied for the third-best mark of his NBA career).
Previous reports had suggested that Westbrook was set to command a record-setting contract from a successful team overseas. Westbrook quickly shot down those rumors though with an interestingly-timed post to social media.
About to head into his 18th NBA season, Westbrook has some very well-documented pros and cons at this point. He is an excellent floor-raiser who, at this point in his career, is at least good for facilitating and energy play. However, Westbrook can also submarine a team with his turnovers and poor shot selection and is notoriously temperamental as well.
A report broke last month claiming that Westbrook was confronted by one of his Denver teammates in the playoffs. While chaos, both good and bad, is simply a part of the Westbrook experience, he might still be worth up to a taxpayer’s midlevel exception (which is set at a hair under $5.7 million this summer) for a playoff team.
