Nine-time All-Star and future first ballot Hall of Fame point guard Russell Westbrook has been linked to a new free agent destination.
Sources inform Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of Subtack’s The Stein Line that the 6-foot-4 UCLA product has been connected to the New York Knicks on the eve of free agency.
Russell Westbrook has emerged as a potential free agent target for the Knicks and Al Horford is a top target for Golden State, league sources tell @JakeLFischer and me.
LOTS more here in this What We’re Hearing compilation as the 6 PM ET bell draws near: https://t.co/bZDtCeAViL pic.twitter.com/sgJ9aSIgjY
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2025
The former 2017 MVP had a player option for his 2025-26 season with the Denver Nuggets, but decided to decline that and look elsewhere for his next NBA destination.
After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a quarter century, the Knicks made the bold decision to ditch the coach who brought them there, Tom Thibodeau, despite five largely successful seasons with the franchise.
Thanks to Achilles tendon tears suffered during the playoffs by Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum, Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, the Eastern Conference suddenly looks wide open for recent also-ran squads like the Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the reconfigured Atlanta Hawks.
New York’s top six looks pretty secure. All-NBA standouts Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns anchor the starters, in a group that also includes All-Defensive wings Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby and utilitarian guard Josh Hart. Oft-hurt center Mitchell Robinson, a switchy defensive menace when available, is effectively the Knicks’ sixth man.
But bringing in some supplemental ball-handling to augment or replace backup guards Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne makes sense. Westbrook is always a dicey proposition, as he tends to hog the ball late and can’t make jumpers with much consistency.
That said, he did have something of a bounceback playoff run with Denver this spring, following an abysmal offensive performance for the L.A. Clippers in 2024.
During that brutal playoff 2024 showing for the Clippers, Westbrook averaged 6.3 points on .260/.235/.615 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists (against 1.2 turnovers), and 1.2 steals. In seven games with Denver this spring (he logged one DNP – CD), he improved those numbers to 11.7 points on a .391/.317/.700 slash line, 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 dimes and 0.9 steals per bout.
Still, Westbrook can be a useful rotation piece during the lengthy regular season, especially for a contending team looking to rest its best players against the dregs of the NBA.
In 75 healthy regular bouts with Denver last year, Westbrook averaged 13.3 points on .449/.323/.661 shooting splits, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds a night.
