Still Without An NBA Home, A Team In China Is Reportedly Prepared To Offer Russell Westbrook 4x His NBA Salary To Come Play In The CBA

Sam Hodde. Getty Images.

With the start of the NBA season just 11 days away, I find it pretty shocking that as of the writing of this blog, Russell Westbrook does not have an NBA home. I'm not sure how it makes sense that we live in a world in which Killian Hayes is getting NBA looks, yet Westbrook is somehow not on a roster. Even with his age, it's not like he wasn't still a productive player last season. He's not perfect, but he's definitely not to the point where he shouldn't be on an NBA roster. There are plenty of teams with worse guard options at the moment that Westbrook, and even former legends can't figure out what the hell is going on

I'm sorry, but this is still a productive player in my opinion

13.3/4.9/6.1 in 75 games (35 starts) last year for the Nuggets, even at age 36 we just saw Russ be able to fill a backup/spot starter role for a contending team. The whole thing is bizarre.

Then of course, there's the latest reporting which suggests there's a team in China (CBA) that is willing to offer Westbrook 4x his NBA rate

“I heard something from someone I trust enough not to blow off what they said: he may have an offer in China for about half a season—and it's damn near quadruple what the Kings could offer him.”

Given we're talking about around the NBA minimum, my guess is that number is around $15-16M, which he certainly is not getting at the NBA level. And you know what? If I were Westbrook I think I'd say fuck it and take the cash. I'm sure you can put in the contract that there would be some sort of NBA opt out clause if a team was interested, so why not? If the NBA is going to be weird about signing you despite still being a productive player, why not cash in and up your international market/appeal? Not only that, but I have a feeling he'd dominate in the CBA so that feels like a win/win.

On the other hand, I could also understand why someone like Westbrook might not want to admit defeat when it comes to playing in the NBA. It's plausible that as the season goes on and guys get injured, teams reach out to bring Westbrook in if they suddenly have a postional need. Maybe he's comfortable waiting until the deadline to hop on with someone for the stretch run, a la what PJ Brown did with the Celtics in 2008. He was "retired" aka just not on a roster until February, the Celts brought him in and he ended up hitting one of the biggest jumpers in modern Celtics playoff history. Given the fact that Westbrook has made $348M in basketball contract money alone, maybe a bag from the CBA isn't worth it. 

But either way, it remains crazy to me that the season is about to start and there are players far worse than 2025 Russell Westbrook on rosters while he's sitting at home. I'm not going to say he's been blackballed by all 30 teams or anything like that, but it is strange.