[Saba Sports News] The Sacramento Kings have officially announced they will not re-sign Russell Westbrook. The decision brings an end to Westbrook’s one-year veteran minimum tenure with Sacramento. The franchise is accelerating its youth-focused rebuild; the team previously waived Demar DeRozan and has been attempting to move the contracts of Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis. During the 2025–26 regular season, Westbrook appeared in 64 games for the Kings, drawing 58 starts. He averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.3 steals across 28.9 minutes per contest, shooting 42.7% from the field, 33.8% from three-point range and 69.4% at the free-throw line. Even at age 37, he registered six triple-doubles, lifting his career triple-double tally to 209, the most in NBA history. Still, those numbers failed to earn him a new deal. The Kings front office intends to fully shift toward a younger roster, making Westbrook the veteran casualty of this transition. Since the news broke, three teams around the league have expressed interest in his services: the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards.
Russell Westbrook can be regarded as a breath of fresh air in the NBA, clearly out of step with the three-point revolution sweeping across the league. His competitive fire is a dying art in today’s game. Yet that very intensity can work against him under certain circumstances, which may partly explain why he has bounced from one franchise to another over the years. Time keeps ticking away, and the wait goes on. For now, everyone is quietly anticipating what the 37-year-old all-time triple-double king will decide next.