If you refuse 3.5 million and choose 3.6 million, it will be difficult to win the championship! Should Westbrook consider retiring?

The NBA preseason is coming to an end, and starting next week, the NBA regular season will kick off. This offseason, many players we are familiar with are slowly fading out of the NBA, such as Ben Simmons and Brogton who announced his retirement. To put it simply, it is not difficult to find a minimum-salary job in the league, but if you were previously receiving a super-maximum salary and then face the minimum salary, many stars may not be able to bear the psychological gap. Westbrook, who is about to turn 37, jumped out of a player option worth 3.5 million in mid-June. After leaving the Nuggets, he finally found his next home, the expected King, with a salary of 3.6 million US dollars in one year. After completing the signing, Westbrook posted on social platforms: In the new season, let us go all out! In the 18th season of Westbrook's career, he finally has something settled.

I still remember four months ago, when Westbrook jumped out of the player option, many media expressed confusion. Even Denver reporters felt it was a pity and called on the team to sign Westbrook back as soon as possible. During this process, famous journalists including Zinger and Charania have revealed that if Westbrook only needs a basic salary, he will not be short of potential buyers. But he hopes to get a higher offer than the basic salary and a larger role space. No team in the league can satisfy him. Until the training camp started, until the preseason started, until the preseason was almost over, Westbrook signed in a hurry. According to confirmation from the Sacramento media, Schroeder will become the Kings' starting point guard in the new season, with Westbrook as the substitute. It's embarrassing, because during the Thunder period 7 years ago, Schroeder was Westbrook's substitute! So what is the significance of Westbrook returning to the NBA?

First of all, there is really no championship! Judging from the predictions of the probability of winning the new season given by the US media, the Kings are at the same level as teams such as the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Bulls, and the probability of winning is close to 0. This term is unfamiliar to the Kings. After getting Westbrook, it has not changed. Secondly, Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season. Especially in the playoffs, when the Nuggets eliminated the Clippers in the first round tiebreaker, some of Westbrook's key performances changed the situation, such as the steal of Harden and the unexpected three-pointer. But again, with this data, it took four months to find the next home, so there must be something wrong! Counting from the 18-19 season with the Thunder, Westbrook has changed 7 teams in 7 years (Thunder, Rockets, Wizards, Lakers, Jazz, Clippers, Nuggets, Kings)!

Let’s look at two statistics first. In the Nuggets last season, Westbrook’s On-Off value in the regular season was -8.3. When the team was on the court, the team won 0.1 points per 100 possessions, and when the team was not on the court, it won 8.4 points. Westbrook cannot attract attention as a shooter. Westbrook makes too many mistakes while holding the ball, and many unexpected situations occur, such as throwing the ball directly into the second-story stands, hitting the timer for a layup, crossing the bridge directly, or making a three-pointer. He is indeed very hardworking, but if he controls the court, the team's lower limit is indeed too low. We don't have to think about whether Westbrook can fit in with the Kings, because the Kings don't have any decent goals.

The pursuit of Kuminga failed, and DeRozan unexpectedly stayed. The management just pretended to show Sabonis: You see, we really worked hard to strengthen operations during the offseason, and even Westbrook was brought in. The Kings have neither a reconstruction plan nor competitiveness to win the championship. They are pure bastards in the Western Conference. Perhaps they hope that Westbrook, who has played in the playoffs nine times in the past 10 seasons, can help them reach the playoff threshold. But there is one thing worth pondering: Kings general manager Perry made it clear when recruiting Westbrook that he was willing to let Westbrook take on a more important role in the new season. The Kings also need Westbrook to lead others to create a tough and united team culture. Westbrook can do the latter, but what about the former? Why did the Lakers, Clippers and even the Nuggets abandon Westbrook?

It would be a pity to throw away food that is tasteless. Westbrook is full of fighting spirit and desire to win. He never gives up and insists on playing even with a broken hand in the playoffs. But to be precise, since he passed the age of 32, led the Wizards to the playoffs and then came to the Lakers, Westbrook has more and more shortcomings. If there is just no shooting, he can drive his teammates through assists and team cohesion, but from beginning to end, Westbrook seems unwilling to admit that he is getting older and that he is no longer good. When he left the Lakers, he was worried about it. When he left the Clippers, he wrote a long article expressing his dissatisfaction with Tyronn Lue's tactics (Harden came to the Clippers, Westbrook was left aside, and he had grievances). Including the Nuggets. It stands to reason that the Nuggets must be the favorites to win the championship in the new season. Why did he leave voluntarily? There is a high probability that he will be notified that if you don't leave, there will be no place for you in the new season.

The Nuggets reserved the last dignity for Westbrook! But this time, it was the King who saved Westbrook. Even if Westbrook can produce the same numbers as the Nuggets with the Kings in the new season, what will Westbrook do next summer? Teams competing for the championship will definitely not consider Westbrook. The Kings even said next summer that at the trade deadline next season, they will still make every effort to strengthen the lineup, including the pursuit of Kuminga. In their future direction, there will be no position where Westbrook can be safe. The most embarrassing thing is that Westbrook finally accepted the cruel psychological gap and reality of going from a maximum salary of 47 million to receiving a minimum salary for three consecutive seasons! Once the expected results are not achieved, it is really time to retire next summer. No team will give him another chance.