Russell Westbrook remains an unsigned free agent and Rockets forward Kevin Durant wouldn’t mind a reunion with his former teammate, he said on the “Up & Adams” show (video link).
“Russ is a legend. He deserves to be in the NBA right now,” Durant said. “I think he deserves to walk out of the NBA on his terms. That would be dope.”
If Westbrook is signed in the short term, it won’t be with the Rockets. They’re hard-capped and can’t sign a veteran right now, even if it’s a minimum contract.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- There are five current openings for WNBA head coaches. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) hears that several of those teams are considering NBA assistant coaches with G League head coaching experience for those positions. Fischer notes that Nate Tibbets had that type of background and is the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, who are currently in the WNBA Finals. Former Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase guided Golden State’s WNBA franchise to a winning record in the team’s inaugural season, earning Coach of the Year honors.
- Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Bruno Caboclo will miss several months of action after undergoing back surgery, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net reports. The NBA veteran big man joined the Reds ahead of last season and appeared in 23 games, including three starts, averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. Caboclo, 30, appeared in 105 NBA games, mostly recently a six-game stint with Houston during the 2020/21 season.
- Longtime NBA forward Evan Fournier would like to finish his career with Olympiacos, he said in a recent TV interview as relayed by Askounis. “I feel very good here and I want to finish my career here,” he said, “I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but for me that’s the goal.” Fournier signed a three-year extension in July. Fournier appeared in 704 regular season games throughout his NBA career, making 504 starts and averaging 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.7 minutes per night.
- ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has unveiled his win total projections for each NBA team, from the Thunder (59.2) at the top to the Wizards (14.2) at the bottom.