The Denver Nuggets just got another MVP in their roster.
Nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook is set to join the 2023 champions next season after the LA Clippers and Utah Jazz have reportedly agreed to a sign-and-trade deal.
The Clippers are sending Westbrook, a 2030 second-round pick swap, and cash to the Jazz in for guard Kris Dunn. Utah is expected to reach a buyout agreement with the 2017 MVP before joining the Nuggets as a free agent.
NBA insider insider Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the developments.
ESPN Sources: The Los Angeles Clippers are sending guard Russell Westbrook, a second-round pick swap and cash to the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade agreement for guard Kris Dunn. pic.twitter.com/48DqYlZ2eK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2024
Once Russell Westbrook clears waivers, the expectation is that he’ll join the Denver Nuggets as a free agent and bring them another veteran to bolster the team’s bench and be available as a spot-starter. pic.twitter.com/HOAoYgyn59
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2024
The Nuggets will mark the sixth team Westbrook has played for in the last seven seasons.
After losing a key piece in two-way guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed with the Orlando Magic during free agency, the Nuggets added Westbrook to a squad that lost in the second round of the playoffs last season against the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games.
[ALSO READ: Timberwolves crush Nuggets' heart with largest Game 7 comeback in NBA history]
The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 212, the 35-year-old do-it-all guard has played the last three seasons in Los Angeles, with the Lakers (2021-22) and the Clippers (2022-24).
While his production has dipped some since his MVP-level prime, he continues to provide explosive energy when he’s on the floor with averages of 15.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists over the last three seasons.
Westbrook now links up with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray at the Nuggets while being expected to come off the bench to provide some significant depth in their second unit.
Meanwhile, Dunn averaged 5.4 points with 2.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 66 games for the Jazz last season and is bound to his sixth team in the last eight seasons.
In 164 starts, the 30-year-old Dunn averaged 7.9 points with 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 333 games.
