Before deciding to walk away from the NBA last week, Russell Westbrook reportedly received a contract offer from the Washington Wizards for the upcoming season.
However, the proposed opportunity ultimately failed to appeal to the veteran guard, and he chose to retire, a decision that received further support from fans after details of the Wizards’ offer emerged.
Russell Westbrook’s Blunt Decision on Wizards Offer Gets NBA Fans’ Full Support
Westbrook spent his 18th and final season with the Sacramento Kings, but had another opportunity to extend his career beyond that campaign, which he decided against.
According to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein, Westbrook received a two-year contract proposal from the Wizards before announcing his retirement. However, the nine-time All-Star ultimately ended the discussions after finding the proposed terms and/or his expected role unappealing.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that Washington made a two-year offer to bring Westbrook back to the nation’s capital,” Stein reported Sunday.
“Sources say Westbrook — not the team — is the party that ended those talks. The 37-year-old apparently balked at the specific terms of the offer and/or the role presented and has decided to stop playing instead.”
Before the report about Washington’s offer, league insider Jake Fischer revealed that Sacramento was interested in bringing Westbrook back for another season. However, rather than accepting a diminished role or potentially serving primarily as a mentor for rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr., Westbrook chose to close the final chapter of his playing career.
Westbrook’s reported rejection of the Wizards quickly received widespread approval from the NBA world. According to fans, the former MVP had no reason to accept a role that did not match his expectations.
“He said [expletive] no to being Trae Young’s backup,” one comment read.
“He probably said no because he doesn’t want to be a player’s coach,” a fan speculated.
“Wizards really thought a 37-year-old Russ would settle for scraps and a bench role after everything he’s given this league. Dude chose the exit door with his head high instead, and honestly respect it,”a fan shared.
Westbrook previously spent the 2020-21 season with Washington, averaging a triple-double by posting 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 11.7 assists per game. Despite the Wizards offering him a different type of role this offseason, the opportunity was not enough to convince him to return.
“They wanted him to be Udonis [Haslem] smh,” one user reacted.
“Russ was straight up better than Trae last year. I get it, man. You get slighted enough, it’s better to just walk away,” one fan remarked.
“It’s obvious they only wanted him back to mentor their young players and get minimal playing time, if at all. Russ was never offered a real role by any team, or else he’d still be playing. All he wanted was an opportunity and no politics around that. Such a hard ask right lol,” one observer weighed in.
Throughout his career, Westbrook established himself as one of the most recognizable guards in NBA history. The 37-year-old leaves the NBA as the all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, while his 27,176 career points rank first among all point guards in league history.
With a decorated career behind him and nothing left to prove statistically, Westbrook appears to have prioritized how he wanted his on-court journey to end. Hence, he chose retirement rather than accepting a reduced role simply to keep playing.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.