The Sacramento Kings finally signed Russell Westbrook on Wednesday following months of rumors. Shams Charania of ESPN reported the news and mentioned that Westbrook and Sacramento had maintained communication as the offseason moved forward. However, was signing Westbrook a good move?
Westbrook is a respected veteran in the NBA. The former MVP is more than capable of impacting a team even at 36 years old. With that being said, there could be some questions that emerge following this signing.
What will Russell Westbrook's minutes look like with Kings?
The Kings already have multiple guards on the roster. Dennis Schroder will likely start, while players such as Keon Ellis, Malik Monk and Devin Carter could all play roles as well. Kings fans have wanted to see Carter receive a legitimate opportunity ever since Sacramento added him to the roster, but the Kings are seemingly hesitant to completely commit to him. With Westbrook needing minutes now, one has to wonder if Sacramento will look to move Carter.
Westbrook averaged 27.9 minutes per outing a season ago with the Denver Nuggets as their sixth man. Sure, he won't require 34 minutes per game or more like he did during his prime, but the veteran guard is still surely going to want respectable playing time. Sacramento will need to move things around and possibly change the lineup strategy in order for that to occur.
Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan will lead the way as expected. Schroder will also play a pivotal role. Westbrook may want to play alongside those players -- as they are all veterans with proven track records. However, Sacramento may not have enough minutes to give Westbrook in order for him to make a big impact alongside the stars.
Could Westbrook play well enough to earn a spot with those guys? Possibly, but the fact that he signed with just a week remaining until the regular season doesn't give him much time to build chemistry with his new teammates.
The hope is that Westbrook's minutes won't prove to be an issue during the 2025-26 NBA season. As long as he is willing to accept potential less playing time -- at least in his first few games -- the situation should not be a problem.
Kings fans will want to closely monitor Russell Westbrook's playing time throughout the upcoming regular season, however. It could end up being an underlying storyline.