Russell Westbrook, Malcolm Brogdon Reportedly Linked to Kings Ahead of NBA Free Agency

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly in the market for a veteran point guard once the NBA free-agent negotiation period opens Monday.

According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, Russell Westbrook and Malcolm Brogdon are among the players believed to be on the Kings' radar.

Stein noted that while the Kings are expected to sign veteran guard Dennis Schröder to a two-year, $30 million contract, when free agency begins, they also want to add another veteran ball-handler alongside him with Westbrook and Brogdon as the top candidates.

Fischer and Chris Haynes added:

The 36-year-old Westbrook is a likely future Hall of Famer by virtue of his nine career All-Star selections, two scoring titles and one NBA MVP Award.

Most of his success came during an 11-year run with the Oklahoma City Thunder to begin his career, but he has provided value for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets since then as well.

The NBA's all-time triple-double leader with 203, Westbrook has adapted to a bench role in recent years after being a high-volume starter for most of his career.

Last season with the Nuggets, Westbrook started just 36 of the 75 games he appeared in and averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 three-pointers made per game, while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc.

While it was a far cry from his career averages of 21.2 points, 8.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per contest, Westbrook was still highly productive in a lesser role.

Brogdon, 32, is a nine-year NBA veteran who has spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers and Wizards.

While he has never been named an All-Star, he was the 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year with the Bucks and the 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Celtics.

Despite averaging 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 three-pointers made per game in his only season in Boston, he was traded to Portland as part of a deal for veteran guard Jrue Holiday.

Various injuries limited Brogdon to 39 games with the Blazers in 2023-24 and to 24 games with the Wizards last season.

Brogdon still put up 12.7 points, 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Wizards last season, but he shot only 43.3 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from deep, well of his career numbers of 46.3 percent shooting from the field and and 38.8 percent shooting from downtown.

As of now, the Kings are set to return a core of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Jonas Valančiūnas and Keegan Murray.

With that group, the Kings went 40-42 and missed the playoffs last season. Sacramento has only one playoff appearance to its credit over the past 19 seasons.

If the Kings do indeed plan on signing Schröder and one of Westbrook or Brogdon, it could be a sign that another guard or wing may be on their way out such as LaVine and DeRozan.

Both players have been linked heavily to trade rumors, as has Sabonis, which means the Kings' roster could potentially look a lot different by the start of the 2025-26 season than it does now.