This Nuggets-Nets trade would mercifully end the Russell Westbrook era early

Denver needs to hit abort on the whole Russell Westbrook thing.

The Denver Nuggets made the ill-fated decision to bank on Russell Westbrook after a summer of inaction. Rather than re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and meaningfully upgrading a championship core, GM Calvin Booth decided to roll the dice on basketball’s most volatile and controversial backup point guard while placing immense faith in unproven youth.

Christian Braun and Julian Strawther look pretty good, to Booth’s credit, but the GM’s propensity for cutting corners has cost Denver severely. The Nuggets’ depth just does not stack up with other Western Conference contenders, which comes into sharp focus as Aaron Gordon is slated to miss an extended period.

The Russ experiment is the epitome of Booth’s failure. While there were reports of Nikola Jokic campaigning for Westbrook behind the scenes, there was simply no excuse for Denver making Russ its signature signing in free agency. Westbrook hasn’t been a positive-impact player in years.

He has cachet to his name and there is a certain respect due to the former MVP, but it doesn’t take perfect eyesight or an advanced mathematics degree to understand that Russ is one of the worst regular rotation players in the NBA right now.

Through seven games, Westbrook is averaging 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on .288/.208/.711 splits in 24.3 minutes.

He has even started a couple of games recently with Denver shorthanded. The Nuggets are trying their best to make Russ happen again, but it’s a losing battle. It only ends one way.

It’s time for Denver to start searching for upgrades. Look no further than the Brooklyn Nets.

Dennis Schroder has been on a heater to start the season in Brooklyn, averaging 19.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on .505/.490/.857 splits. Those shooting numbers will fall back to earth eventually, but Schroder has proven his value over the years with slippery drives to the hoop and strong facilitating instincts.