Russell Westbrook announced his retirement on August 12, 2026 after 18 NBA seasons — and the real story is not that nobody wanted him. Shams Charania reported that Westbrook had offers from the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards and chose to walk away on his own terms. The question is why those were the only two calls he got.
The answer is the CBA. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, teams over the apron lose the mid-level exception entirely, cannot sign a bought-out player who was earning more than the mid-level, and can only add free agents on the veteran minimum. That minimum was $3.9 million this summer — the exact ceiling for contenders like Cleveland, Denver, Golden State and New York. In 2023, Utah waived Westbrook with $47 million left on his contract and he signed with the Clippers within days. That move is no longer available to an apron team.
His agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports posted a statement the same day pointing at the Lakers selling for $12.5 billion while teams refuse to spend on older veterans under current CBA rules, and thanked the union. Schwartz also represents Kevin Love, Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell, all still unsigned. NBPA executive director David Kelly said at Summer League in July that the union is not a fan of the second apron, did not propose it, and should have done a better job fighting back against it.
Westbrook retires as the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, 5th all time in assists, 14th in scoring at 27,176 points, the 2017 MVP, a nine-time All-Star and a member of the 75th Anniversary Team. Last season in Sacramento he averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists on a minimum contract at age 37.
James Harden, Bradley Beal, DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love are all still free agents in August.
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