According to ESPN, Russell Westbrook is still largely expected to sign with the Sacramento Kings, which is enough to make Los Angeles Lakers fans everywhere keel over with laughter. The Kings aren’t a great fit for Westbrook, nor vice versa, and both sides tumbling towards disaster should bring a smile to Lakers fans’ faces.
“League sources consider the Sacramento Kings the most likely destination for Westbrook, who will turn 37 during the first month of the season,” wrote Tim MacMahon of ESPN. ‘If that's the case, Westbrook would likely come off the bench again and share ballhandling duties with free agency addition Dennis Schroder.”
Lakers fans should be ready to watch and laugh from the sidelines.
How would Russell Westbrook work with Kings?
In theory, Westbrook could work with the Kings. Last summer, when Westbrook signed with the Denver Nuggets, everyone thought it would be a mess, but it actually worked out perfectly.
He was a great role player in Denver alongside Nikola Jokic, acting as a nice backup ball-handler and cutting well off the ball, making the most of playing next to the Serbian star’s passing.
Sacramento has Domantas Sabonis, another one of the league’s best playmakers. The Kings could use Westbrook in a similar manner, but the rest of their roster is where things become a mess.
The Nuggets don’t have a ton of ball-handlers on their roster outside of Jamal Murray (and Jokic, when he handles the ball in the post). The Kings have a ton of guys who need the ball in their hands.
In addition to Sabonis, who will run the offense a lot of the time, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk all need their touches. Plus, adding Westbrook to the Kings’ lineup could be disastrous for their three-point floor-spacing, and they don’t have a guy as good as Jokic to make up for it.
Plus, add in the Kings’ interest in Jonathan Kuminga, and their spacing could be even worse than anticipated. Sacramento is rumored to be interested in a lot of weird moves this summer, all likely to be stuck in the middle of a crowded Western Conference.
Lakers fans have first-hand experience watching Westbrook in a situation that’s not ideal for him. Needless to say, they aren’t the biggest fans of the former MVP at this point.
Combine that with the Lakers’ history with the Kings, and hearing that Westbrook is going to potentially sign with Sacramento should bring laughter to fans donning the purple and gold.