After three months of residing on the free agency market and regularly being linked as a candidate to sign on with a number of teams, future Hall of Famer and OKC Thunder legend Russell Westbrook remains unsigned.
To some, his unemployment comes as a serious surprise -- after all, he did just finish seventh in the running for Sixth Man of the Year last season while dropping 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game for the 50-win Nuggets.
However, the lack of interest among teams in adding him to their roster doesn't necessarily mean they see his production from last year as unimpressive. Instead, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the real reason why Westbrook's still looking for work has less to do with his talent and more to do with his troubling fit within schemes.
Thunder legend Russell Westbrook not a 'natural role player'
To Pincus, Westbrook's inability to consistently space the floor (shoots 30.5 percent from deep for his career), his lackluster risk aversion skills (averages 3.9 turnovers per game for his career), and his rather "contentious relationship" with the media make it hard for a team, even one that covets more backcourt depth, to decide to bring him aboard.
All of these factors have led ball clubs around the league to determine that the point guard "isn't a natural role player," according to Pincus, which, unfortunately, is undeniably true.
Westbrook has always sported a superstar mentality, and, for the vast majority of his career (mainly while with the Thunder), he has been able to produce like one. This type of drive is the main reason why he has been able to rack up nine All-Star and All-NBA nods, two scoring championships, a league MVP, and, once his career is all said and done, a one-way ticket to Springfield.
Of course, during these latter years of his career, the sad truth is that while this mindset may still remain, the physical abilities needed to accommodate it are merely a thing of the past.
No longer is he capable of gunning it from baseline to baseline on a self-initiated fastbreak and jamming it down over virtually any defender that crosses his path. Long gone are his days reigning as the triple-double king.
Even if Westbrook has fully accepted the fact that he's no longer a franchise cornerstone, his style of play is not one that can seamlessly transition away from being a team's ball-dominant floor general and offensive focal point.
At this point, the recent uptick in positive reviews of him as a teammate and locker room presence could go on to benefit his chances of landing with a squad for the 2025-26 season. Pincus himself even would admit "he should find an opportunity before long for what will be his 18th NBA season."
Unfortunately, however, considering he's no longer the athletic specimen he was in his younger years, and is far from a lights-out shooter, Pincus also stresses that patience will be needed from Westbrook while he continues to find a new home.