As rival teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder load up in an arms race, the Denver Nuggets have kind of been caught holding the bag.
They already lost valuable starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the first day of NBA free agency. Furthermore, they’ll now be relying on a host of mid-to-late first-round picks to become major contributors in another title run. That’s not an impossible ask, but for the time being, it is a lofty bet.
Though, if Nikola Jokic has anything to say about it, it seems Denver will soon be adding a living NBA legend to hopefully help its title ambitions.
According to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports, Jokic has reportedly been pushing the Nuggets behind the scenes to add veteran point guard Russell Westbrook. The 35-year-old former MVP is in the middle of the ring-chasing era of his career and is seemingly more than willing to take on a support role (with a cheaper salary) in the right situation if it means he can finally win a title.
The Nuggets, with the three-time MVP in Jokic, would obviously potentially qualify as that right situation:
“Nikola Jokic has actually been pushing behind the scenes, to get Westbrook to Denver”
Nikola Jokic is completely on board with the idea of Russell Westbrook being a Denver Nugget pic.twitter.com/5v1FokL1sw
— 𝐊 𝐀 𝐒 𝐇✧⍣ (@TheKashKingston) July 1, 2024
Candidly, when I had heard the Nuggets were interested in Westbrook, I was skeptical of the fit.
As good as Westbrook can be, even in a complementary role, he remains one of the more ball-dominant players in the NBA. If he were to, say, run the Nuggets’ young bench unit, there was little doubt in my mind that the bench would effectively take the identity of Westbrook continually driving to the rim and taking mid-range shots. That’s not good for a championship contender seeking more depth and offensive balance.
Now that I hear Jokic is the one pulling the strings for Westbrook, I wonder what the angle is. If I were to guess, I’m betting Jokic thinks he can maximize Westbrook’s trademark explosiveness as a cutter and driver and that he’d be unselfish enough to be an offensive Swiss Army Knife for the Nuggets. He’d run the bench. He could share the floor with Jamal Murray as another ball-handler. He’d make the dirty “hustle” plays. Think Bruce Brown — a key member of Denver’s 2023 title team — but with less defense.
Far be it from me to question Jokic’s thought process too much on this front.
From Brown to Aaron Gordon and even Caldwell-Pope, Jokic has a well-established precedent of helping wring out every last drop out of talented, if misused, NBA veterans. If the Nuggets get the version of Westbrook that Jokic thinks he can coax out, they will remain amongst the NBA’s true small handful of heavyweights.
So, if he thinks Westbrook can help the Nuggets win another title, I have no choice but to see the vision.
