The Clippers are dealing Russell Westbrook, a second-round pick swap and cash to the Jazz in a sign-and-trade for free-agent guard Kris Dunn, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Former MVP Westbrook is expected to reach a buyout agreement with Utah and eventually sign with the Nuggets once he clears waivers, according to Wojnarowski.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report hears that Dunn will sign a three-year, $17M contract. The final season of Dunn’s deal with Los Angeles will be a team option, per Woj.
Strangely, this will be the second time that Westbrook will be traded to — and then waived by — Utah in 17 months, with the first instance coming in February 2023. The Jazz are adding a second-round swap and some cash to take on Westbrook’s dead-money cap hit for 2024-2025.
The 35-year-old will earn a little over $4M this season, while the minimum salary for a player with his amount of experience will be about $3.3M
We’ll have to wait and see how much he gives up in the buyout, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it ends up being $3.3M since that will almost certainly be his salary with the Nuggets — it’s all they can offer due to their financial situation.
Westbrook exercised his player option this summer but reports almost immediately came out saying the Clippers were working with him on a trade. He has essentially only been linked to Denver, which has an opening at backup point guard after salary dumping Reggie Jackson to Charlotte.
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is reportedly a fan of Westbrook, who also received an endorsement from veteran center DeAndre Jordan.
The nine-time All-Star averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals on .454/.273/.688 shooting in 68 games with the Clippers last season (22.5 minutes per contest).
Haynes reported on July 1 that Dunn would sign with the Clippers, with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports later stating that the two sides were working on sign-and-trade scenarios to open a wider salary range for the 30-year-old guard.