Over the last several days, basically everyone knew that Russell Westbrook would be beginning the 2024-25 NBA season with a team other than the LA Clippers. Rumors had already been swirling since the conclusion of this past season that the team could move on from him.
Then came the official report from Shams Charania that the Clippers and Russ were working on finding a trade, and in the event no partner for a trade could be found, a buyout was being considered as well. Additionally, the Nuggets were listed as Westbrook's most likely destination.
All that made it explicitly clear that Russ was going to be gone in the very near future. As a result, Thursday's announcement that he had officially been traded to the Utah Jazz came as anything but a surprise.
Russ was traded to the Jazz for a second time
But for those who remember recent NBA history, this was actually not the first time Westbrook was dealt to Utah in a trade. At the 2023 trade deadline, the Lakers sent Russ to the Jazz as part of a three-team trade that netted them D'Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Soon after the 2023 trade was made official, Utah waived Westbrook which allowed him to ultimately sign with the Clippers. Now, just under 18 months later, Russ has once again been dealt to the Jazz, with the exact same result - him being waived so he can sign with another team.
No matter where your fandom lies, this is a pretty humorous circumstance. Westbrook has now been a two-time member of the Utah Jazz for maybe a couple of hours each time. No doubt fans will be using this as fodder for humor in the future, with talks of "Jazz legend Russell Westbrook" inevitably not far away.