Rejected a base salary of 3.5 million, but joined the Western Conference without guarantee! Goodbye NBA, you are not far away from retirement

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Even if Westbrook can produce comparable numbers with the Nuggets in the new season with the Kings, his future will still be gloomy. The Kings have no rebuilding plan and no competitiveness for the championship. They signed Westbrook, perhaps just hoping that his past experience of "playing in the playoffs nine times in 10 seasons" can help the team feel the threshold of the playoffs. However, once the team's performance is poor in the middle of the season, the Kings will most likely make full efforts to strengthen the team at the trade deadline and pursue young players like Kuminga. Westbrook may become the target of sacrifice at any time. As for the championship teams, he has already been excluded from the list - no team that aims to win the championship will be willing to bear the offensive and defensive risks he brings.

From a maximum salary of 47 million to a minimum salary for three consecutive seasons, from a league superstar to a player with an unguaranteed contract, Westbrook finally accepted this cruel reality. But this acceptance is more like a helpless compromise than a clear understanding. If he cannot prove his worth with the Kings in the new season, or is even laid off early due to poor performance, then next summer, I am afraid no NBA team will extend an olive branch to him. At the age of 37, there is no room for error. Every mistake and every downturn is counting down to his retirement. Westbrook once used "go all out" as a post on social platforms, but the result of "go all out" was just to compete for a substitute seat on a weak team. When "go all out" can no longer change the direction of the game, perhaps the phrase "goodbye NBA" is not far away from him.