After several rumors and reports that the Denver Nuggets were targeting a veteran point guard, it appears that Russell Westbrook will officially be a member of the team in short order.

According to Shams Charania of the Athletic, the Nuggets are signing Westbrook to a two-year contract.

The contract includes a player option in the second year and is technically a minimum contract.

The Nuggets, after losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, and even Justin Holiday this offseason, haven’t replaced them in the backcourt with any external talent up until this point. Intentions were made clear that Christian Braun was expected to fill in for Caldwell-Pope at starting shooting guard with Julian Strawther expected to assume Braun’s old bench role.

Up until now, the Nuggets hadn’t added anybody externally (other than the impressive Trey Alexander on a two-way contract) and were waiting for the Westbrook signing to manifest. After the former Los Angeles Clippers point guard was traded to the Utah Jazz and waived, the Nuggets have now swooped in and offered Westbrook a solid deal, a two-year minimum contract.

Perhaps this was the plan all along, adding the aggressive and explosive point guard to be the primary backup for Jamal Murray. With as fast as free agency moved around the Nuggets, Westbrook quickly became the best player semi-available, and after Nikola Jokic shared his stamp of approval for the addition of Westbrook, the Nuggets moved to make it happen.

Perhaps there were better ways to add Westbrook to the team, but now that it’s done, the margins don’t matter as much to me. Denver’s roster looks to be complete with 15 players:

  • Point Guard: Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, Jalen Pickett
  • Shooting Guard: Christian Braun, Julian Strawther
  • Small Forward: Michael Porter Jr., Peyton Watson
  • Power Forward: Aaron Gordon, Vlatko Čančar, Zeke Nnaji, Hunter Tyson
  • Center: Nikola Jokić, Dario Šarić, DeAndre Jordan, *DaRon Holmes II

*Expected to miss the 2024-25 season due to injury

The Nuggets also have three two-way contracts signed for 2024-25: guard Trey Alexander, forward Spencer Jones, and big man PJ Hall.

Even with the addition of Westbrook, Denver’s lack of backcourt depth stands out here. Only five “guards” and two small forwards feels like a low amount, especially when Denver needs the versatility to go small. Westbrook will play a significant role for that reason. He’s strong, knows how to play, and is used to a system with the Clippers where he often played out of position. The Nuggets may need Westbrook to fill in various gaps.

As I’ve wrote before, how this works out is anyone’s guess. The Nuggets will be reliant on Westbrook, especially if Murray misses games or Braun struggles out of the gate. He will have a role, and it will be on the Nuggets to discover what helps Westbrook, and the team, be the best versions of themselves while he’s out there. That’s easier said than done because Westbrook’s skill set can be difficult to accommodate, but this is what the Nuggets have signed on for.

It should be a very, very interesting 2024-25 season for the Nuggets.