BREAKING: Nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook has agreed on a deal to sign with the Sacramento Kings, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. The 2017 league MVP enters his 18th NBA season. pic.twitter.com/Y0SrfKJrcf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2025
Russell Westbrook signs with Sacramento Kings
The 2017 MVP. 9-time All-NBA. 9-time All-Star.
Turning 37 in November, Russell Westbrook signs a minimum deal to join a Kings organization in a mid-build crisis.
Last season, Sacramento fired their head coach, Mike Brown, and traded away their best player, De’Aaron Fox. They elected not to restart, and why would they?; Mike Brown arrived in 2022, the team had its first 40+ win season since 2006.
The Kings have a makeshift roster of NBA vets—including DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Dennis Schröder and now Russell Westbrook.
No idea what this team will do when the ball is tipped next week.
But Russell Westbrook will be there raising their floor like he did in the 2020-21 season, averaging a triple-double—carrying the Washington Wizards to the playoffs.
This Kings team is astronomically more talented than that Wizards team—but the Western Conference is stacked with rosters that make sense while Sacramento has 4 ball-dominant guards whose skillsets don’t work together.
This will easily be the funnest team to watch this season. Every man for himself.
And maybe, if they start winning early, all these vets buy into the larger project, with younger players like Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray, filling in the defensive gaps.
Doug Christie Coach of the Year trophy loading.
Malcolm Brogdon Retires
Just in: After nine NBA seasons, New York Knicks guard Malcolm Brogdon has decided to retire from basketball, he tells ESPN. Brogdon became the 2017 Rookie of the Year and 2023 Sixth Man of the Year after being drafted No. 36 in 2016. pic.twitter.com/nablWsQ9mu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2025
After nine NBA seasons, guard Malcolm Brogdon is retiring from the NBA, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.
The sources said Brogdon’s sudden retirement is due to him feeling like he could no longer meet the physical and mental demands needed to succeed in the NBA. The veteran guard has dealt with multiple injuries over his last few seasons and the work to recover and build up for games was too much at this stage in his career.
The Knicks had a difficult decision to make with their final roster spot.
Vets, Landry Shamet, Garrison Matthews and Malcolm Brogdon were fighting sophomores Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek for the privilege to never play a single minute for the 2025-26 New York Knicks.
At age 32, Brogdon realized he didn’t have the juice to play for the Knicks.
This has never happened in my life before.
The New York Knicks are so good, the head coach is demanding so much from his players on a day-to-day basis—players are forced into retirement, realizing they can’t keep up with what the Knicks are doing.
Growing up, this was the home base for over-the-hill players looking to collect checks and bullshit their minutes away in meaningless games.
32-year-old Baron Davis, in the final season of his career, shot 37% (and 30% from 3) in 29 games.
You could hear his knees creaking and cracking through the television.
Personally, loved the April loss to the Heatles—really ending the season on a strong note.
Started in the backcourt with Landry Fields, Baron went 1-for-6 from the field, missed 3 free throws, had 5 turnovers to 4 assists, scored only 3 points and finished a -13.
The 2026 Knicks have no shelter for those with weak joints.
Take that shit over to Sacramento.
Championship expectations loom.
For the first time in my life, the Knicks are entering the season as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.
If anyone from American Spirits is reading this and wants to sponsor Deadseriousness, please just send a whole truck’s worth to HQ. I will be ripping darts, anxiously sweating through every free throw attempt.
Jonathan Kuminga buys in
After a contract negotiation stalemate, in which both parties refused to budge from their stances. Jonathan Kuminga wanted to play elsewhere or get a massive pay raise to return.
He wanted to get a massive pay raise regardless.
The Warriors both don’t want to send Kuminga to another team to see him blossom into a scorer elsewhere but they sure as hell don’t want him on the Warriors pouting every day because he’s not allowed to iso every time the ball touches his paw.
They eventually agreed on a 2-year $48 million extension and in a preseason game earlier this week, it looks like Jonthan Kuminga has finally bought into Warriors Culture.
Kuminga was fouled, made physical contact with the ref, and was ejected from the exhibition.
Isn’t shown on camera, but Kuminga made contact with the ref after arguing about a foul resulting in an immediate ejection
Things are heating up 🍿 pic.twitter.com/QqMifR9wSB
— 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐭 (@BlazeEnthusiast) October 15, 2025
Here’s what Steve Kerr said about the ejection after the game:
“It was a physical game, and the way he ran on that play, the activity that he played with, the rebounding, he had six boards in one half, 17 minutes, that’s the JK who can really help our team. And I love the way he played, I love the fire, the passion. I don’t mind the ejection at all, I kind of liked it actually. So, I thought JK was terrific.”
Jonathan Kuminga is officially a Warrior.
There is nothing this team loves than randomly being ejected in the middle of games they don’t feel like playing in. On any given night, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry or Draymond Green will explode over a routine missed call, very purposely attempting to be thrown out.
Now that Kuminga has $50 milly on the books, he has joined the “get kicked out of work early” club in the Bay.
Thanks for reading.
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