The Miami Heat are among the betting favorites to land former MVP Russell Westbrook in free agency.
Offshore sportsbook Bovada has the Heat to have the fourth-best odds to sign Westbrook at +600 behind the New York Knicks (-250) and the Sacramento Kings (+350) and the Milwaukee Bucks (+500).
Rounding up the betting list are Dallas Mavericks (+800), New Orleans Pelicans (+900) and Minnesota Timberwolves (+1000).
Westbrook, who will turn 37 in November, remained unsigned after he declined his $3.5 million player option to return to Denver.
No-Brainer Flier?
GettyRussell Westbrook, formerly of the Denver Nuggets, psyches himself up before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The nine-time All-NBA point guard played a key role for the Nuggets last season, averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists against 3.2 turnovers in 75 games. In Denver, the 2017 NBA MVP split his time between the Nuggets’ bench and starting unit.
At this stage of his career, Westbrook is looking to join a title contender as a ring-chasing veteran. With injuries to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, the Eastern Conference is as wide open as it has ever been in recent years.
Adding Westbrook to the Tyler Herro–Bam Adebayo duo may not be the needle-mover like Kevin Durant that they expected to land this offseason, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Westbrook on a veteran minimum is a value deal that will be too good to pass up for Heat president Pat Riley.
Russell Westbrook as Jakucionis Mentor?
Westbrook can serve as a veteran mentor to the Heat’s first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis.
The Heat are high on the Lithuanian point guard, though he may not be ready to play heavy minutes right away for a team that has playoff aspirations.
Jakucionis’s NBA Summer League performance clearly showed that after he averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists against 3.7 turnovers while shooting an alarming 31.8% from the field.
Nevertheless, a Heat front office executive spoke glowingly about how he rebounded from his early jitters.
“I’m not going to tell you where he was on our board, but it was a heck of a lot higher than where we picked him,” the anonymous executive told Keith Smith of Spotrac. “The great thing about Kas is that he wasn’t very good in California. And he was mad about that. Here (Las Vegas), he was much better. That’s what will work for him in the NBA. He’s not going to settle for anything other than being great.”
Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon also raved about Jakucionis after they selected him as the 20th overall pick.
“We see tremendous potential with Kas,” Simon told reporters in June. “You’re talking about a 6-5 [guard] with a plus-three [pointer], good athlete, but with a high IQ. So if you combine all those things with a work ethic, there’s no reason why you can’t mold him into a very good NBA player. I think that’s why we were attracted to take him tonight…We didn’t think he would be there. We had him higher, obviously, than where we picked him.”
