The Denver Nuggets are just entering a crucial offseason for the team, with plenty of tough decisions to be made about many key players and coaches. Some of those decisions about coaches and front office members have been made already after the team fired head coach Michael Malone and Calvin Booth near the end of the regular season.
Shortly after losing in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Nuggets promoted David Adelman to be the new full-time head coach. He then let go of most of his assistant coaching staff, so this Denver team will look a lot different next season.
The Nuggets also have some tough decisions to make as they wait and see which players will be back next season. Backup point guard Russell Westbrook has a player option that he can opt into for next season, but there is a team overseas that could offer him a lucrative amount of money to leave the NBA, according to Nemanja Zoric of HoopsHype.
Article Continues Below“Hapoel Tel Aviv has made initial contact with former NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook,” Zoric wrote. “I'm told the Eurocup champions are planning to make him an offer with a salary never seen before in European basketball.”
Westbrook had his rocky moments for the Nuggets this season, but he was still one of the few players that the staff and the players trusted to come in and contribute in a playoff setting. The former MVP is past his prime as a star player in the NBA, but there is a chance that he could find that again if he were to go overseas. He would also arguably be the biggest star in the league if he were to go overseas, something that he cannot claim anymore in the United States.
While Nuggets fans were mixed on Westbrook throughout the season, he would still be a big loss and would leave another big hole that Denver would have to fill in free agency. For a team that is somewhat strapped for cash and assets, maybe keeping him around for another year is the best option, especially if he picks up his player option.
