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Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
A year after joining the Nuggets, Russell Westbrook could already be packing his bags and leaving the franchise as a free agent. In that case, one of his courtiers is reportedly ready to offer him a contract that is supposedly unprecedented in history.
As his 36th birthday approached, he hoped he’d finally set foot on the team that would win him the first title of his career. A year later, Russell Westbrook is still not an NBA champion. His first season with Denver ended with elimination in the Western Conference semi-finals, and in a relatively tense climate as far as he was concerned.
While the Nuggets were still battling it out in the playoffs, the Brodie’s name came up in rumors suggesting that he wasn’t unanimously supported in the locker room. Far from it. It didn’t take much for his future in Colorado to be undermined. The subsequent loss to the Thunder didn’t help matters, of course… but it did provide a great opportunity for suitors to lure him back during the off-season.
Russell Westbrook on his way… to Europe?!
Holder of a player option which he will be free to activate or not this summer, Westbrook was asked about his future before leaving on vacation. The rather evasive answer he gave only added to the feeling that a new departure is not out of the question. However, it may not be in the NBA, but rather… in Europe, where a club is reportedly ready to break the bank to recruit him, according to Nemanja Zoric :
Nemanja Zoric: Hapoël Tel Aviv has made initial contact with former NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook. I’m told that the EuroCup winners intend to send him an offer including a salary never before seen in the history of European basketball.
Returning to the EuroLeague next year, Hapoël Tel Aviv are clearly planning to make a big splash on the market for the occasion.
What better way to do this than to recruit a former MVP and multiple NBA All-Star? Russ would certainly be the new face of European basketball if he were to seize the opportunity. But there’s no guarantee that he will. He may well have to take into account Patrick Beverley’s short experience with the Israeli club and the difficulties the latter encountered there during his reflection.
It could also be that certain NBA franchises are showing an interest in his profile and are looking to keep him in the USA. After all, one of the league’s stars seemed to be courting him only a few days ago. This issue is therefore still far from having reached a verdict, and will have to be closely monitored in the weeks to come.
