Paul, 40, is still very popular. Where can the 36-year-old Westbrook go?

Today, according to well-known media person Marc Stein, Paul, 40, is not expected to return to the Spurs next season and will become a full free agent in the offseason. But Paul is not only not short of next players, but is very popular. Major teams are preparing to grab players. The US media NBACentral even opened an next player's odds, as follows!

1. The Mavericks have the largest odds, -120 lead

2. The Lakers have the second odds, +300

3. The Clippers have the third odds, +350

4. The Cavaliers, 5. The Grizzlies have the odds of +575, +900

, respectively, and there are many teams interested in it, such as the Magic, the Nuggets, etc. It can be seen that the 40-year-old Paul is still very popular. Last season, Paul played 82 games for the Spurs, attending all the games, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists per game, shooting percentage of 42.7%, and three-point shooting percentage of 37.7%. Paul's role in the Spurs is not high, basically creating opportunities for young people and having very few ball rights, especially after Fox came, the role became even weaker.

But the role that should be played will still be played. It can only be said that Paul is really a good player in leading young people, and the ball control and field control are still very reliable. This is why so many teams want to get him at the age of 40. But next season, Paul should have a basic salary, it depends on which team he wants to go to.

In comparison, the 36-year-old Westbrook has had much more ups and fewer choices. Westbrook has just announced his right hand surgery, which will repair two fractures in the hand that appeared in the middle of the season. The Nuggets officially stated that this operation will repair multiple ligament tear, so although Westbrook can run and jump in the playoffs, he has suffered multiple injuries to his hands. His entire series with the Thunder, his little finger and ring finger were tied together, and four of his five fingers were tied with bandages.

At that time, the Nuggets gave the Thunder a seven-game goal, and Westbrook hugged Alexander with a big laugh. At that time, what I thought was that Westbrook could finally have a good rest. This time, he did not announce how long he would take a rest, but he said he would recover completely soon.

Unknown to me, Westbrook is also 36 years old. Last year, he signed a two-year minimum salary contract with the Nuggets. After playing this year, he still has 3.47 million left. I don’t know if Westbrook will jump out of the contract and become a free agent, or choose to execute the contract for next season and continue to play for the Nuggets.

Westrow played 75 games for the Nuggets in the 2024-25 season, including 36 starts, averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, shooting percentage of 44.9% and three-point shooting percentage of 32.3%. To be honest, Westbrook's data is better than Paul, but obviously his market is much less than Paul. If he chooses to jump out of the contract and become a free agent, there shouldn't be too many teams that can give him a contract.

It is reported that Westbrook will jump out of the contract and continue to sign a basic salary contract with the Nuggets. To be honest, Westbrook does not care about money, but it feels that it is really difficult for the Nuggets to win the championship now, and they don’t have the salary space to sign up. The team has three big contracts, with Jokic 55.22 million next season, Murray 50.42 million, Porter 38.33 million, and Gordon 23.84 million.

Recently, there have been reports that Braun will also have 150 million yuan in five years, so the Nuggets' salary structure is too rigid and there is no room for signings at all. So it is too difficult to win the championship. Westbrook stays in the Nuggets, for one thing, for one thing, for two things, for one thing, for one thing, for one thing, for the championship, so what should we do here? Besides, there will be a new coach next season. If Westbrook is unable to see it, he will be directly DNP, then his career may really be over.

Westbrook is obviously better than Paul in many aspects now, so why is the market less than Paul? Do you think Westbrook should jump out of the contract and look for the next team to win the championship? Can Thunder pay for his feelings and win Westbrook back?