Russell Westbrook Reportedly 'Uncertain' to Return to Nuggets in 2025 NBA Free Agency

Given the upheaval within the Denver Nuggets organization at the end of the regular season, their summer plans may not include bringing back Russell Westbrook.

Per The Athletic's Sam Amick and Tony Jones, Westbrook's future in Denver is "uncertain" even with him holding a $3.4 million player option for next season on his contract.

The Nuggets' entire offseason approach won't be shaped until they hire a new general manager and head coach.

Michael Malone, who had been coaching the team since June 2015, was fired on Tuesday with three games remaining in the regular season. The team also announced that general manager Calvin Booth won't return next season, as his contract isn't being renewed.

Jones, Amick and Zach Powell reported on Tuesday that Booth was "dismayed" that Malone had been playing Westbrook in crunch time recently instead of Jalen Pickett.

If Booth were keeping his post as general manager, that tidbit would seem to suggest Westbrook is definitely gone. He could still be on the outs with the organization amid growing frustration with his erratic performance.

This was never more evident than in Denver's 140-139 double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 1. Westbrook attempted to disrupt Nickeil Alexander-Walker's three-point attempt as time expired, in the process running into the Wolves guard and being whistled for a foul.

Alexander-Walker made two free throws to give Minnesota a victory on a night Nikola Jokić recorded a triple-double with 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Amick and Jones noted Malone's defense of Westbrook after the game "was seen by some as a shot at the team’s young talents." They also wrote Malone suffered a "loss of credibility among" his key players for granting Westbrook the same type of leniency given to Jokić and Jamal Murray.

It's perhaps notable that Westbrook only played 17 minutes on Wednesday night in David Adelman's first game as Nuggets interim head coach. That was his second-fewest minutes played in a game all season (16 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 5).

Relative to what Westbrook is being paid this season ($3.3 million), he has been a good signing for the Nuggets. The nine-time All-Star is averaging 13.2 points, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game in 73 appearances.

Part of the Westbrook experience, though, is the volatility that he brings to the court. There are still moments when he can look like arguably the best player on the court, but then you get a situation like at the end of the T-Wolves game that costs his team a win.

If the Nuggets want to start getting young players like Pickett and Julian Strawther more game time next season, moving on from Westbrook would be an easy way to open up minutes for them.