(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
After spending the last season and a half with the Los Angeles Clippers, Russell Westbrook was on the move again this offseason, as he was traded to the Utah Jazz for the second time in two years.
The Clippers were determined to make some changes, which resulted in them letting Paul George walk in free agency while also trading away Westbrook to bring in Kris Dunn.
In the manner the Jazz acquired Westbrook in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers the first time, Utah waived the former NBA MVP, making him a free agent and able to control his fate on the open market.
Fortunately for Westbrook, the Denver Nuggets were eager to sign him to help with their backcourt issues, which became apparent with the absence of Bruce Brown, who signed with the Indiana Pacers prior to last season and is now with the Toronto Raptors.
With Westbrook wearing No. 0 throughout his prolific career, the expectation was that he’d have a conversation with Christian Braun about getting that number with the Nuggets.
A story began circulating claiming that Westbrook asked Braun for the number and was denied.
The veteran is now pleading with fans to stop getting on his teammate for what he claims is a false story.
“Let’s please leave our young star alone,” Westbrook posted to social media, via ClutchPoints. “CB and I never discussed him passing along the number 0.”
“Let’s please leave our young star alone.”
Russell Westbrook says he never asked Christian Braun for jersey #0
Russ is such a great teammate
(via @russwest44/ IG) pic.twitter.com/2Gml6yUYkc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 27, 2024
Westbrook hasn’t played a single minute — and hasn’t even been seen in a Nuggets uniform — yet he already has created a distraction, whether it resulted from a false story or not, which has to be a little concerning for Denver as it looks to get back to the NBA Finals.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out in the Mile High City, as many questioned the move, but Nikola Jokic supposedly lobbied for the Nuggets to bring in Westbrook, so it was likely hard to say no to their superstar.
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