When the Denver Nuggets made the decision to sign future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook, it led to a lot of confusion. After all, his fit in Denver seemed questionable at best, and his personality didn't seem to mesh with star Nikola Jokic. However, Jokic advocated for bringing him in, and after an initial rocky start, Westbrook has managed to carve out a role on the Denver Nuggets.
His play has significantly contributed to their team, providing much-needed depth and playmaking off the bench. In fact, the Nuggets often play faster when he's on the court.
He's averaging a solid 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game off the bench. While Westbrook still has some of his negatives, including taking ugly jumpers, including shooting 31.7% on 3.7 3-point attempts per game, and occasionally struggling with turnovers, the good has outweighed the bad.
He still has enough quickness to aggressively attack the paint, either finishing at the rim or finding open teammates. Westbrook has also provided rebounding and even defense with him being able to effectively guard even bigger players on-ball. It has even been suggested by some that he has helped the Nuggets more than Jamal Murray, who has started slowly.
That would be premature with Murray being more skilled at this point than Westbrook, and the Nuggets will need him to be better than Westbrook if they want to have a deep playoff run. Nevertheless, Westbrook has brought more toughness to the Nuggets.
Russell Westbrook has been everything the Denver Nuggets were hoping for when they first signed him.
Considering that he signed for the veterans minimum, Westbrook has proven to be well worth his contract. This is despite many questioning his fit on Denver's roster. Nevertheless, he has been a valuable addition, and the Nuggets would be in a far worse position without him.
Going forward, Denver will have to add more shooting to ensure that they have enough firepower to be able to compete in the West. That may result in them having to trade one of the members of their core to upgrade their roster. If they can turn Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji into a couple of rotation players, then that would make them deeper than before and give more players for Jokic to work with.
Fortunately, adding Westbrook for cheap has given the Nuggets more depth and another player who can be relied upon to contribute despite their depth issues.