Will LA bring Brodie back next year?
Los Angeles Lakers backup (and Long Beach native) point guard Russell Westbrook had such a bumpy first season with his home team in 2021-22, yours truly was dubious he would earn more than a veteran’s minimum deal when he hit free agency, which will happen this year.
But that was before he was moved to the team’s bench.
Rory Maher of Hoops Rumors writes that Westbrook’s stellar production as a reserve has revived his speculative value on the free agent market ahead of the summer. After some preseason grousing about a possible move to the bench, Westbrook ultimately embraced the change just three games into the 2022-23 season. He is now the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Sixth Man Of The Year award, averaging a solid 15.4 points per contest on .415/.293/.671 shooting splits and a 49.3% true shooting percentage in just 28.5 minutes per contest. The former nine-time All-Star and 2017 MVP is also chipping in 7.8 assists and 6.4 rebounds a night.
Maher notes that, prior to the start of the season, he expected Westbrook, currently on an expiring deal paying him a $47.1 million salary this season, to take a massive haircut on his next contract. Maher thinks that Westbrook could fetch something in the range of a team’s full mid-level exception this year, estimated to be $11.7 million. That assessment feels exactly right, should Westbrook decide to stick around ahead of the 2023-24 season.
