Russell Westbrook will turn 37 years old at the beginning of next season, but his presence on the Denver Nuggets this season helped the team advance to the second round of the playoffs. His energy is contagious and was something the Memphis Grizzlies severely lacked when the going got tough during their second-half slide this season.
This team needs a veteran with the type of energy he has to help them overcome a hurdle they have been knocked for since Dillon Brooks left for the Houston Rockets in 2023. With a huge offseason coming up to clean up their weaknesses, Westbrook should be considered a target for a team whose starting point guard's style of play he mimics.
Grizzlies should pursue Westbrook to replace the Derrick Rose role
Derrick Rose was another player whose athletic style at the point guard position was similar to Ja Morant's, and the Grizzlies signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2023 to be his backup point guard. At age 35 during the 2023-24 season, Rose was limited to 24 games due to injuries, and he and Morant never had the chance to play together as he was out during Morant's limited time on the court (9 games).
After an injury-filled season for the entirety of the team, Rose retired just shortly before training camp began before the 2024-25 season. Scotty Pippen Jr. earned the role vacated by Rose to good results, but after another season ended with Morant leaving the court with an injury, the team needs to pursue another athlete who has more left in the tank than Derrick Rose did and provide the team with another ball handler.
Westbrook is still playing as the second round of the playoffs gets underway when he and the Nuggets face off against the team that ended the Grizzlies' season, the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds this season in a mostly bench role in 75 games played during the regular season.
He averaged 13.8 points in their first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers and knows his role as an enforcer and spark plug off the bench. Westbrook can be inefficient, but in the latter half of his career, he knows what he will be brought in for, and he was Ja Morant's favorite player growing up.
He doesn't help the Grizzlies' shooting issue, but with Morant's injury history, the Grizzlies need a player who can produce when he's out and can provide guidance on how to better take care of his body on a day-to-day basis. Westbrook is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and shouldn't cost too much for the Grizzlies to obtain as a second attempt to provide a mentor for Ja Morant.