The Nuggets have a clear need for a backup point guard, and Russell Westbrook remains unsigned. Yet, the team shouldn’t be looking to bring back the polarizing future Hall of Famer, even despite his success in Denver last season.
Westbrook worked in Denver last year because it was a perfect marriage of arrangement. The Nuggets were desperate to fortify their meager depth. They needed a veteran guard who could handle the ball, they needed an injection of energy and attitude, they needed a veteran presence.
And Russ provided all of those things in spades. It certainly helped that the Nuggets had no way to improve the roster beyond minimum signings and that the market for Westbrook was essentially barren.