You know things are bad when people start making up rumors about you going overseas to play basketball. That is the latest chapter of Russell Westbrook's free agency saga in 2026. For what it is worth, those murmurings have been debunked by the latest from The Stein Line.
"One source close to the process told The Stein Line that a recent report suggesting that Russell Westbrook was in talks to sign abroad with Hapoel Tel Aviv was 'laughably false.' Westbrook to this point has not considered leaving the NBA after 18 seasons."
Being a former MVP and getting connected to a team in Israel due to a lack of NBA interest has to be pretty close to rock bottom. This plummet can be dated back to the start of the 2021-22 season, his first with the Los Angeles Lakers. That was a pivotal crossroads in his career.
Russell Westbrook's fall from stardom started with the Lakers and only got worse
When Westbrook arrived in Los Angeles, the future Hall of Famer was still viewed as a star in the league. Hooping with the Lakers changed that.
Due to a combination of poor fit and poor play, Westbrook's perception hit an all-time low, for the time, while playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers gave up on making it work with Russ after shipping him away in 2022-23, less than two full seasons into his time with them.
They proceeded to reach a Western Conference Finals after trading him.
No one viewed Westbrook as a star anymore when he joined the crosstown rival. His time with the Los Angeles Clippers was largely serviceable, but it came with an eventual feeling of him overstaying his welcome. That much was clear when Russ put up a horrible playoff series in 2024 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Westbrook's stint with the Denver Nuggets was brief, and also ended after a disappointing 2025 playoff campaign. There was fair skepticism about what the nine-time All-Star could do for a team with true contending aspirations, and that landed him with the tanking Sacramento Kings for 2025-26.
From a counting stats perspective, Westbrook's last campaign was fine. The production was there. It also exposed why taking a chance on him at this stage of his career is so challenging.
Westbrook needs the ball in his hands to be most effective. To some capacity, there also needs to be an acceptance of him playing his style of basketball. That brand of hoops is just not something a competitive team would benefit from after his athletic decline and lack of concrete adaption on offense.
Russ did not evolve enough to mold himself into a complementary role player. That is what he should be at this stage, and there is just not enough of a positive track record to demand a roster spot be made for him. Seeing the lack of interest this offseason showcases just that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google